Infinity Crisis: The Inhumans
by L1701E
Summary: Side-fic to Michael Weyer's "Infinity Crisis". As Thanos wipes out half the universe, the Inhuman Royal Family have to deal with a crisis of their own! Chapter 4 up! The storm builds...
1. Meet the Inhumans!

**Infinity Crisis: The Inhumans**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners. This is just for fun.**

**Author's Note: Hey there, folks! This is a sidefic to Michael Weyer's _Infinity Crisis._ In the fic, he said that he did not have the Inhumans appear because he felt they would not have gotten involved in the war against Thanos. It made a light bulb go off in my head: What if they _couldn't_ help? What if they got caught in a crisis of their own? So, I asked the author if I could do this, and he gave the okay. So, here we are! Enjoy! So, a bit of clarification. You may be wondering why some things in this chapter may not exactly line up with the TV show. Well, look at the TV show as an adaptation of the "real" events. Also, you don't _need_ to read _Infinity Crisis_ to enjoy this, but you should anyway, as it's good. Enjoy the show!**

Chapter 1: Meet the Inhumans!

**Space, Universe-A. Several months before the events of _Infinity Crisis_**

In the vast reaches of space, one could find many wonders. Worlds that contained lifeforms that would astound the imagination, nebulae that formed beautiful sights as they formed new stars. One such wonder, a small object, was floating around in the great void.

The object was in actuality, a gem. The gem was heptagonal in shape, the seven outer facets each seemingly shimmering in one color: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The center facet of the gem matched the heptagonal shape of the gem itself, and it shimmered white. One side of the gem was completely flat.

The gem continued its journey through space, going wherever fate and the cosmic winds would take it. Eventually, it found itself caught in the gravity field of a small planet. The planet itself was blue-and-green, with white clouds. The gem almost became a small shooting star as it burned its way through the atmosphere. Despite the heat and friction, the gem was seemingly impervious to any damage. The gem then impacted into the sand of a beach.

_**Foof!**_

The gem kicked up a small amount of sand as it hit. A figure approached the smoking crystal.

The figure was a tall, thin man. He wore what looked like a mixture of rags made of leaves and animal hides and a tattered black uniform. His dark hair and beard were long and scraggly, like he was never able to get them properly trimmed. He cocked his head and frowned at the small crystal.

"Agon's Genes..." The man muttered to himself as he recognized it. "The Power Prism..." _The ancient gem! _The figure's mind raced as it recalled learning of the legend of the Prism. _An ancient artifact that could allow its user to create energy constructs. The only limits were the user's will and imagination! It was said the Prism allowed the user to do anything. Even...fly in space unaided... _The man grinned insanely. He then started to laugh. "Looks like fate was kind to me today." He patiently waited for the gem to cool off, then picked it up. "My exile has ended today!" He grinned as he looked up at the sky.

"You hear me, Blackagar?! I WILL RETURN! I WILL TAKE MY RIGHTFUL WORLD! THIS MAXIMUS SWEARS!" Maximus Boltagon, aka Maximus the Mad, cackled loudly.

**Earth-A. Honolulu, Hawaii.**

Honolulu has long been known as the Crossroads of the Pacific. It also had recently gained a new name: Inhuman Central. A couple hundred miles off the coast of the city sat another city: this one mighty and futuristic, the buildings having a golden sheen. The city's shining spires seemed to attempt to punch holes in the sky, if the dome over the city didn't stop that.

This was Attilan, the ancient city and home of the Inhumans and their Royal Family. An advanced paradise by the time that humanity was emerging from the caves, Attilan had moved several times over its long existence. Before becoming Honolulu's new neighbor, it was previously located in a part of the Moon known as the Blue Area.

The Blue Area of the Moon was an artificial Earth-like environment created by a race of aliens known as the Skrulls. They used it as a testing area for two other races: The Kree and a plant-like race called the Cotati. A group of each of the two Hala-born races were left there for one Skrull solar revolution to see what they could accomplish on this barren satellite. The Kree built the Blue City within the area, while the Cotati gave the area an ecosystem. The Skrulls were more impressed by the Cotati's ecosystem, infuriating the Kree. The Kree killed the Skrulls and Cotati and abandoned the Blue City. This incident was believed to be one of the triggering events of the Kree-Skrull War.

The Inhumans brought their ancient city of Attilan to the Blue Area out of fear that they would be discovered by humanity, after witnessing it growing more and more advanced. The Inhumans had concerns about humans' exploring the moon in the 1960s, but after Apollo 17 in 1972, humanity seemed to abandon its desire to explore the universe in manned craft...much to the Inhumans' relief.

In more recent years, humanity would finally meet their genetic cousins. The mad royal Maximus, using his power to control minds, tried to usurp his brother Blackagar by posing as a freedom fighter wanting to end the Inhumans' caste system. As part of his plan, he exiled the rest of his family to Earth.

However, the Royal Family were able to make some human friends. With their help, Maximus's true plan to use the Inhuman people as an army to conquer Earth was exposed. Maximus had brought Attilan to Hawaii as a staging ground for his invasion. As a result of his treachery, Maximus was exiled to a world with no intelligent life. In the process of saving Attilan, the city's ability to transport itself was damaged. It was not completely unrepairable, but for the mean time, Attilan was stuck being Honolulu's neighbor.

The arrival of the city caused quite a tizzy in the Big Pineapple. It spawned a variety of reactions in the populace, from curiosity to fear. And Attilan was an indirect subject in an event in a television studio in Honolulu.

"Welcome to another episode of Moon Over Honolulu!" The hostess cheered into the camera. She was Polynesian, with long straight black hair. She was dressed in a light green jacket and skirt with a black blouse and white tie. She sat behind a desk that was decorated with a mug that had a funny picture of a cat on it. Tana Moon was a local celebrity, the host of Moon Over Honolulu, a talk show that would often host celebrities and local prominent figures. Two of them were in the studio at this moment. "I'm Tana Moon! As you know, recently this fine city has gotten itself some new neighbors. They've caused quite a bit of stir here in the Big Pineapple, and my two guests have been the center of a recent controversy thanks to the Attilanians."

Tana waved to a man with dark curly hair, dressed in a cream suit with a blue shirt. He sat in his chair in a relaxed manner, like he was chilling at home. "Say hello to Mr. Joey Tallarico." The man smiled and waved at the audience, who responded with polite clapping. "You may know him as the writer of the _Nebula Force_ novel series. His latest book in the series, _Starlight Starnight, _was released last week. He's also working on a new book about his encounter with the Inhuman king, Black Bolt."

"Thank you, Miss Moon, and well...I would not describe it as an _encounter._ I helped Black Bolt take back his throne from his crazy-ass brother." Joey clarified. Before moving to Hawaii, Joey had served in the US Army in Afghanistan. He had started writing his first book during his time there. It proved to be successful, and Joey was able to write full-time. He had moved to Hawaii because he had always wanted to live there.

"And you ended up developing a relationship with the Inhuman king."

"Well, he and I ended up becoming friends, believe it or not." Joey smiled. "It surprises me, too. I'm just a regular normal ol' science-fiction author. Gotta admit, being friends with the king of a bunch of super-people is very good inspiration for future stories."

"Oh, I can imagine." Tana smiled. "Tell me, what is His Majesty like?"

"Well, I'll tell you this Tana, his singing voice can _really_ bring down the house." He started laughing and the audience contributed some chuckles.

"I'll have to bring a hard hat next time he performs."

"That would be wise." Joey nodded. The audience chuckled. "But in all seriousness, the Royals are not a bad bunch. Well, except for Maximus, but I can imagine that just about every family has their black sheep."

"I see." Tana looked at her note cards. "There has been some who remarked that the Inhumans practice a caste system that has been criticized by some observers of their culture."

"_Practiced._ The current Royal Family abolished it. There was a reason for it, in the past." Joey explained. "Black Bolt told me about it. When the Inhumans started using the Terrigen Mists millenia ago, it produced some real horrors. You think _modern_ Inhumans can look crazy? Trust me, in the past, there were some horrific mutations produced."

"I see..."

"I would not be surprised if Cthulhu was real and was just an ancient Inhuman." Joey joked.

_Considering people like the Avengers exist, I would not be surprised if that ugly octopus-faced monster is real._ Tana thought.

"To prevent that, the Inhumans created a selective breeding program, which led to their caste system. And as you all know, Maximus took advantage of this to get power for himself, posing as a freedom fighter for the lower castes. But in reality..." Joey shook his head. "Psycho didn't care about _anyone's_ freedom. When Black Bolt took back the throne and Attilan ended up here, the caste system was abolished. After all, with Inhumans appearing on Earth, there was no need for the selective breeding anymore."

"From what I understand, several Inhumans did willingly aid Maximus in his conquest of Attilan." Tana pointed out.

"They were pardoned." Joey explained. "They didn't realize Maximus was lying to them. They just wanted the chance to make their lives better. I thought I was here to discuss my new book."

"Of course, Mr. Tallarico." Tana smiled. "So, you have a new book out, tell us a bit about it."

"Well, the _Nebula Force_ series is my pride and joy." Joey said. "The books tell the tale of a group of intergalactic investigators that battle crime all over the spaceways. The new book is about the group finding a special artifact that is believed to bring great power to its wielder."

"Sounds awesome." Tana grinned.

"You bet. I had a ton of fun writing it." Joey grinned.

"Now, you also have gotten attention for a guest editorial that you wrote recently." Tana noted.

"Yeah, it was in this response to this guy here." A snorting Joey shot his thumb at the man sitting next to him.

"Well then, I would like to take this time to introduce my other guest." Tana gestured to a handsome gray-haired man, dressed in a glittery pink suit with a white ruffled shirt. He had a smile on his face, and sat in a more formal, straight manner. The lines on his face showed his age, being in his early 50s. His fingers were decorated by golden rings, an he had a charming smile on his face. Joey shot a scowl at the man.

"Everyone, say hello to author and pastor, Dr. William Roberts." Tana introduced. "He recently caused some controversy with his opinion piece _The Inhuman Question,_ which has caused quite a lot of debate about whether we should see the city of Attilan as a threat." At that, Joey shot another scowl at the man. He read every word of that jerkoff's column. It led him to write his own response to the paper's editor. The version he sent was the fifth draft. He had to heavily edit it because to remove the swear words and threats to perform impossible feats with Roberts' head.

"Call me Billy, Miss Moon." Roberts insisted, his voice showing his Tennessee upbringing, the serene smile still on his face. "And yes, I would like to remind the fine audience here, as well as this man here..." He gestured at Joey, making the dark-haired man scowl at him again, this time a much deeper one. Roberts ignored it, continuing on. "That less than a year ago, their fancy city appeared here, and they tried to invade us."

"Because the vast majority of them were mind-controlled by a rogue member of their Royal Family!" Joey snapped. "Maximus was a psycho! He posed as a freedom fighter so he could steal the throne from Black Bolt, then planned to conquer the Earth because the nutjob believed he was the Earth's rightful owner! I just explained this to you!"

"He does have a point, Doctor." Tana agreed. "Is it really fair to look at all the Attlanians suspiciously simply because of the actions of one of them?"

"It isn't fair!" Joey insisted. "It's not fair at all!"

"Can you blame people for being a little nervous, though?" Roberts pointed out. "I mean, a city full of superhumans? And one of their leaders wanted to take over the world? Even you have to admit, Mr. Tellarico. Something like that...will send some chills down a man's spine." Joey fought down the urge to growl.

_Dammit, that old SOB may have a point._ The dark-haired author admitted, his hands tightening on the arms of the chair he sat in. _Maximus was not the first so-called 'bad' Inhuman...and sadly, he may not be the last...wait...I can use that..._

"Mr. Tallarico, are you okay?" Tana asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Joey waved her off. He glared at Roberts. "You do have a point, Roberts. I'll give you that. Maximus was not the first Inhuman to be a megalomaniac. And I do doubt he'll be the last. But as Tana here said..." He pointed at her like he as giving her acknowledgment. "...is it really fair to judge all the Attilanians simply because of the actions of one? I personally don't think so. That kind of thinking is dangerous, and leads to some very, _very_ bad things." He kept his eyes on the preacher. "The Royal Family has worked hard to show that they're not the enemy. They allowed us to view Maximus's exile as a sign of trust. And I will admit, this is me speaking from personal experience, but I got to meet the rest of the family. Black Bolt is the opposite of his mad brother."

"Still, a big city filled with people full of superpowers? You can understand why that would be cause for concern."

"It's why Attilan has been opening itself up to the world." Joey countered. "They want to build trust. They want to show that they're not monsters. They're people...in their own way." A chill overcame the room. "Hey, did someone turn up the AC..."

"I feel it, too..." Tana frowned. A murmur arose from the audience, and then it happened. "Oh, my God!"

"What in the name of the Lord?!" Roberts yelped as he saw the audience panicking...as random members got reduced to dust. The gray-haired man whirled at Joey. "See what I mean?! This never happened before those Inhumans showed up!"

"You don't know they're responsible for this!" Joey yelled.

"BOYS!" Tana got their attention. She turned to Joey. "You got a way to contact the Attilanians?"

"As a matter of fact, I do..." Joey reached into his pocket.

**Callisto Aerospace**

Callisto Aerospace was a Honolulu-based firm dedicated to research and development of new technology used in various aerospace fields. One notable employee was a woman named Dr. Louise Fisher. Since she was a girl, Fisher was obsessed with the moon, and dreamed of being the first woman to walk on its surface.

Shortly before the arrival of the Inhuman Royal Family to Earth, Fisher was working on a project that involved unmanned probes to the Moon, hopefully leading towards man re-stepping on it. Her probes kept getting destroyed, and she was convinced there was something on the moon keeping something hidden. Her superiors weren't completely skeptical (After all, the formation of the Avengers _did_ prove to the general public that extraterrestrial life existed), but Fisher's reputation for being eccentric didn't help things much.

Fisher would become one of the Royal Family's first human friends and allies when Maximus exiled the them to Hawaii, befriending Medusa. Her reputation among her co-workers soared when she helped stop Maximus and Attilan ended up neighboring Honolulu. Vindication was a wonderful feeling.

Fisher was right now in one of her favorite places: her lab. Her lab was known as a bit of a messy place, but she insisted she had a "system". It was also full of models and memorabilia of spacecraft from throughout history, from Vostok 1 (The craft Yuri Gagarin used to become the first man in space) to the Space Shuttle. It was a testament to her love of space.

Fisher was observing some slides in a microscope. She was only listening to the TV going in the lab. She did pay more attention to the TV when she heard Joey speak. A smile crossed the bespectacled blonde's face as she heard him tear into the pink-clad pastor.

_You tell him, Tellarico._ She mentally encouraged. The blonde then turned and saw a young green-haired woman, like in her late-teens/early twenties, bopping to some music, turning around in a swivel chair.

"_It's gonna be a hooooot niiight! We're gonna have a hot night! Tonight! It's gonna be a hoooot night! We won't get to sleep tonight!_" The young woman sang along to the Laura Brannigan song "Hot Night". The song was playing in some earbuds in her ears, connected to an iPod in her hand. The woman was wearing a dark purple top that bared her midriff. She also wore a matching pair of leather pants, and a pink sash was tied around her waist.

Fisher couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement a bit, recognizing the song from the _Ghostbusters_ soundtrack. _I should never have introduced Ozel to my film collection. _Ozel was an Inhuman gifted by the Terrigen Mists with the power of superspeed. **(Author's Note: Ozel is from the comics. She appeared in **_**Marvel Fanfare #14 **_**(May 1984). She showed no powers in the comic, so I gave her superspeed as a nod to her meeting Quicksilver in the comic.)** She was one of the Inhumans the willingly worked with Maximus, believing he was out to end the Inhumans' ancient caste system. However, when she discovered that Maximus had no intention of living up to his promises, she helped the rest of the Inhuman Royal Family and their human allies stop his plan to retake Earth.

Since then, Ozel stuck to the blonde scientist like glue. Fisher figured that she wanted to explore the human world, so the Royals allowed the green-haired speedster to stay with her as a form of cultural attache. Fisher didn't mind very much, as she found Ozel rather pleasant. A bit hyperactive, but pleasant. Happy that the Inhuman had found a way to amuse herself in the meantime, Fisher turned back to the microscope she was fiddling with.

"Hey, Doc! Hey, Doc!" Ozel called out.

"What is it, Ozel?"

"I'm _boooored!_" The green-haired and matching-eyed woman whined, spinning around in her swivel chair. "Are you done with your science yet?"

"Science isn't about being quick, Ozel." The bespectacled blonde woman told her. "It's about being thorough." _Hmm..._she thought as she looked at the DNA in the microscope. _I've managed to learn so much about the Inhumans lately. Maybe I should make like Joey and write a book. I'm sure he could give some tips. Sure, he specializes in fiction, but I'm sure he'd love to help..._

Ozel huffed in frustration. "Is everything you science humans do so boring, Dr. Fisher?"

Fisher smirked at her Inhuman friend. "You certainly enjoyed my film collection when I introduced you to it."

"Well, yeah!" Ozel nodded. "Human films are really neat! You know, I should show you some Attilan films sometime!"

Fisher looked up from her microscope in disbelief. "...Attilan has a film industry?"

"Uh huh!" Ozel nodded. "I oughta show you some of the best films Attilan has ever produced. _The Romance of the Three Trees_ is a classic!"

"I'll...have to look into it." Fisher noted. "...you said that you were bored?"

"Yeah!" Ozel nodded. "I am bored. I get bored a lot."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Everyone has always told me that I could be impulsive and impatient, and that was even _before_ I underwent Terrigenesis."

"...have you ever considered that maybe your powers are the reason for your antsiness?" Fisher asked. "I mean, it's not just your body that is quick. I imagine your brain must work quicker than the average human or Inhuman. Would makes sense, as with moving at super speed, you would have to take in _much _more information much faster."

Ozel put a finger on her chin in thought. "Maybe...now that I think about it...sometimes, the world to me feels like I'm trapped in...what do you call it?" She waved her hand around as she tried to recall the word she was looking for. "...Molersees?"

"Molasses. Molasses, right?" Fisher deduced.

"Right. Mo-lass-es." Ozel repeated slowly, making sure she pronounced it correctly. "...what exactly _are_ molasses, anyway?

"Molasses is the result of refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. It's used for sweetening foods." Fisher smiled. "It's known for being a thick, viscous substance."

"That explains that phrase." Ozel nodded. "Hey, speaking of sweet foods, you think the cafeteria has anymore of those delicious frosted muffins?"

"I would be surprised if they did, considering your eating habits." Fisher smirked. _Makes sense. With her super-speed, comes super-metabolism. She needs to consume a __**lot**__ more calories than the average human...or Inhuman. I will admit, I envy that a bit. She can scarf down dozens of candy bars and not worry about it going to her hips..._ She heard a _**ZOOM**_, and realized the green-haired Inhuman had zipped away. In a second, she came back, holding a pink box.

"Still got them, thank the genetic code!" Ozel grinned, opening up the box. Inside were chocolate muffins with colorful frosting on them. "Want one?"

"Uh, no thanks." Fisher shook her head. "Those're a bit too rich for me." _Ugh, I fear I might end up diabetic just by __**looking**__ at them!_

Ozel shrugged. "Okay. Your loss." She started tearing into the cupcakes. Louise quietly stared at the young green-haired Inhuman as she ate. When she was done, Ozel happily licked her fingers.

"Mmmm, you Earthers make such delicious treats!"

"Ozel...have you considered what we talked about last week?"

Ozel blinked for a moment in confusion, then it came to her. "Oh yeah, that college thing."

"Yes. Looking into might help you decide what to do with yourself here." Louise nodded.

"I have, yeah. I'm thinking of going to that university in Manoa."

Louise smiled in amusement. "University of Hawaii in Manoa. That was my old alma mater. I studied astronomy there."

"Yeah. I've been looking over the courses. It's kind of funny."

"What is?"

"...you remember why I helped Maximus overthrow the other Royals back in Attilan, right?"

"Yeah, you wanted to have the freedom to decide what to do with your life."

"The old caste system didn't allow that." Ozel recalled. "I was stuck in a miserable courier job. I hated it. But now, with the caste system abolished, and my living here now...I have the freedom I wanted to decide my own destiny...and I have no idea what to do with myself."

"Some would call that irony, Ozel."

"Is _that_ the Earther term for it?"

"Yes." The blonde scientist ruffled the Inhuman's emerald locks. "You'll figure it out, Ozel. You're smarter than you think." The two then heard a scream from outside the lab. "What the-?!" The two ran out and saw a stammering man in front of a pile of dust.

"Yves?! What's going on?!" Fisher asked.

"It's Gerry!" The man yelped. "He and I were talking, and he just crumbled to dust." The blonde scientist and Inhuman blinked at each other.

"You mean he..."

"No, he did _not_ spontaneously combust! He just..." Fisher and Ozel felt a chill in the hall.

"Ozel, check around! See if this happened anywhere else!" Fisher ordered.

"Right!" The green-haired Inhuman zipped off.

_I got a bad feeling about this..._ Fisher frowned. Ozel came back a second later.

"It's bad, Doc!" She yelped. "Some of the people here just collapsed into dust..." She looked down and saw herself doing the same. "...Doc?!" She whimpered.

"Ozel!" Fisher gasped.

"Doc, help me!" Ozel yelped as she collapsed into a pile of dust. A horrified Fisher knelt down before the dust pile.

"Oh, Ozel..."

"Louise...what the hell is going on here?!" Yves said. Louise got up, and stared at her co-worker.

"I have no idea..."

**A beach in Honolulu**

Medusalith Amaquelin was a woman who was fully enjoying the rare bit of downtime she got to have. The last near-year had been a very busy one for her as Queen of Attilan. Even busier than usual. In the past, she only ever had to worry about helping run a city full of superpowered people. But now, she had even more put on top of it. Since Attilan was brought to Earth, the superhuman woman people nicknamed "Medusa" for her prehensile super-strong hair was in a tizzy. Meeting with dignitaries, and having to be one of the faces of the Inhumans...she may have been trained her whole life for this, but even she needed a break.

Hawaii seemed to provide such a break. Dressed in a purple bikini, the redhead was, for the first time in her life, enjoying the human activity of sunbathing. She lied on a chair, her eyes covered by purple sunglasses, and a book in her hands.

_Hmmm..._ Medusa mentally noted as she used a tendril of hair to turn a page. _Joseph's new book is quite entertaining. I'll have to thank him for the dedication in it, it was rather touching._ A whooping noise made her look up. She noted a younger woman with reddish-blonde hair, clad in a yellow-and-black one-piece swimsuit, surfing on a yellow surfboard. Surfing with her was a young man wearing a pair of red trunks, surfing on a blue surfboard.

"Nice one, Crystal!" David "Dave" Dawson cheered in approval. "You're getting better at this!"

"Having the power to manipulate the elements helps!" The blonde elemental manipulator grinned back at him. She used said power to calm the wave they were riding on, allowing them to swim to shore. The two approached Medusa.

"Having fun, Crystalia?" Medusa asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah, big sis!" Crystal nodded. "You ought to try surfing sometime. It's fun!"

"She's right, Medusa." Dave chuckled as he walked to the large brown sleeping bulldog lying next to Medusa. A red Hawaiian shirt decorated with Japanese kanji was spread on his back. "Thanks for guarding my shirt, Lockjaw." He gave the dog a scratch behind his ear.

"Rrf." Lockjaw mumbled, still asleep.

"Shouldn't you guys have, like, bodyguards out here or something?" Dave noted as he pulled his shirt on. "I mean, you two are royals, and..."

"We are protected!" Crystal pointed at Lockjaw with a smile. "Nobody messes with him." Dave looked at the snoozing Lockjaw.

"Oh yeah, nobody ever messes with him." He jerked his thumb at the snoozing Inhuman dog. "So fearsome, he is."

"We do have protection here." Medusa said simply. Dave wanted to ask what she meant, but the redheaded queen just smirked and went back to her book. The surfer shook his head.

_Yeah, I'm not going to get any information out of her about that._ The surfer realized. _She likely has some hidden guards around._ A shadow went over them, and the three looked up. A tall, broad muscular man floated down towards them, wearing a pair of black and silver trunks. His black hair was neatly combed back. Around his head was a silver headband with what looked like a small tuning fork on the front. The fork had a corona of blue energy with black dots in it. And around his neck was a silver collar with a pair of lights on the sides.

Blackagar Boltagon, aka Black Bolt, was the king of the Attilanians. And like Medusa, he was enjoying some rare rest and relaxation. The king had a pair of colorful drinks in his hands.

"_I have obtained drinks, my queen."_ The king said...but his mouth did not move, instead staying in a smile. The lights on the collar glowed as he 'spoke'. _"The bartender referred to them as 'Mai Tai's."_ The collar allowed Black Bolt to speak without harming anyone. Black Bolt could arguably be considered the strongest of the Inhumans, thanks to his great strength, toughness, and raw power. However, his main power was in his brain. His brain could produce a strange particle that interacted with electrons in the air to produce certain effects, mainly flight and a super-powerful "quasi-sonic scream". However, this was linked to his brain's speech center, so even the slightest whisper could cause a lot of damage.

"Why thank you, my love." Medusa's hair wrapped around one of the drinks and brought it to her. _I always wanted to try one of these..._

"_They are quite good, my love."_ Black Bolt agreed. A strange chill was felt in the air. _"Does anyone else feel that?"_

"Yeah, big guy. It's spooky." Dave shuddered, buttoning his shirt. The group then saw Dave collapse into dust.

"Dave!" Crystal yelped. Medusa leapt to her feet. "Agon's Genes! What in the name of the genetic code is going on?!" They then heard murmuring and screaming. The three Inhumans looked around and saw people on the beach suffering the same fate as Dave Dawson.

"My baby!" A woman screeched in horror as she saw her child turn to dust. The beach seemed to turn into chaos as people freaked out and panicked.

"_We have to calm everyone down."_ Black Bolt said. A man noticed the three Inhuman Royals.

"You did this!" A man yelled, pointing at Medusa. "Roberts was right about you!"

_Roberts? That religious leader? _Medusa frowned as she noticed a crowd forming around them. Sadly, it wasn't hard for someone to convince them the Inhumans may be responsible for this sudden tragedy. People were still understandably slightly antsy considering Maximus's actions about a year earlier. _Blast you, Maximus!_ The redhead was dragged out of her thoughts when she saw a column of wind suddenly kick up around herself...caused by Crystal. The sudden brief blast of wind seemed to cause the angry crowd to step back a bit...and make Lockjaw wake up.

"Hurr?!" The dog looked around in confusion.

"No we didn't!" Crystal snapped, her eyes glowing white. "We had nothing to do with this!"

"She's right." Medusa added ...Black Bolt?" Medusa gasped as she saw her husband collapse into dust.

"_Medusa..." _The King of the Inhumans spoke his final word.

"No!" The prehensile-haired woman yelled. "Blackagar!"

"You see?!" Crystal yelled at the crowd. "Look what happened to Black Bolt!" She looked at her older sister. "Medusa...we need to get home. Whatever happened here might be hitting Attilan, too."

"Yes..." Medusa nodded. "Yes, we should. And we should find our human friends. Hopefully this strange phenomenon has not taken them..." _Would explain what happened to our hidden bodyguards...maybe they were turned to dust as well...Gorgon and Triton will not be happy..._

"Okay Red, if you didn't do this, then who did?!" The man yelled. Medusa gave the man a steely look.

"I do not know. But I _will_ find out. And when I do..." She clenched her fist and her hair shuddered with anger. "They will pay for what they have done."

**Attilan**

Another member of the Royal Family was standing in a room in the palace, the home of the Royal Family. This member was a green-scaled man, his head bald except for a green fin on top like a mohawk. His ears were pointed, and he wore a dark purple outfit with light purple armored pieces. Over his mouth and nose was a special mask with hoses connected to a pack on his back.

The aquatic Triton Mander-Azur stared intently at the wall of screens.

"Working as always, I see." A voice teased. Triton turned around and saw a dark-skinned man walking towards him. He was a dark-skinned man, with curly black hair and a mustache and beard. He wore a brown and tan outfit, and a matching headband with a silver decoration on it. His feet were cloven hooves. Gorgon Petragon had a smile on his face. He was often the one who helped train young Inhumans in the usage of their powers. He was super-strong and durable, and could generate seismic waves by stomping his hooves.

Accompanying him was a woman with yellow skin and hair. She had large ears, and wore a black outfit. Like Ozel, Auran was one of the Inhumans who worked for Maximus willingly, and turned on him when she discovered his lies. After her pardon, Gorgon made her his assistant in training Inhumans with their abilities. Auran's ears granted her superhuman hearing, and she also had a healing factor.

"Not surprising." Auran teased.

Triton shrugged. "_Someone_ has to do it." He then noticed someone was missing. "Where's Karnak?"

"He's out on a date with that human girl." Auran explained. Gorgon laughed.

"Ha ha! I knew it!"

"I don't understand." Triton blinked in confusion. "I thought he ended that with her."

"I convinced him otherwise." Gorgon said. "With my wisdom."

"Sure you did." Auran smirked. "He basically told Karnak to date her anyway. Better having tried than none at all."

"That _is_ wisdom!" Gorgon countered. The three Inhumans felt a chill. "Anyone else feel a little cold?"

"Yes, I feel it too." Triton agreed. "Which is strange. Since I underwent Terrigenesis, I don't really feel cold much anymore."

"Uh, guys..." Auran piped up. A look of fear was on her face...as her body crumbled to dust. "Help me..."

"Auran!" Gorgon and Triton ran to her, but she completely crumbled before they could reach her. The bull-footed Inhuman turned to his fish-like relative. "What happened to her?!"

"I don't know!" Triton answered. An alarm klaxon erupted. He quickly ran to the console in front of the screens and started typing. "Gorgon, look!" He obeyed and gasped.

"By the genetic code..." The seismic wavemaker's eyes took in the horror of what he saw. He saw random citizens of Attilan vanish. No rhyme, no reason. "What...what is happening?"

"I...have no idea." Triton shook his head. A light on the console blinked. "It's one of our communicators!"

"Which one?!"

Triton fiddled with some controls. "It's Joseph."

"The author." Gorgon recalled, crossing his arms. "Didn't he dedicate his new book to us?"

"Yes, it was very nice of him." Triton opened the communication line. "This is Triton."

"_Triton! Thank God!"_ Joey's voice was heard. _"Have you heard? Random people had been turning into dust! I'm not sure what is going on!"_

Triton and Gorgon looked at each other. The green-scaled Inhuman frowned.

"Joseph, you're in Hawaii, right?" He asked. Joey confirmed it. "It's happening here in Attilan as well." Gorgon noticed another screen, playing a news report from France. He had no knowledge of the language, but the footage of people turning to dust was clear.

"Triton..." He piped up. "I think it's happening everywhere. We need to find the others."

**Earth 51**

Out in the reaches of space, a member of the Green Lantern Corps was observing a rift in space.

"Hmmm..." Galick Groton, Green Lantern of Sector 6534, thought out loud as his ring scanned the rift. He scratched his purple chin, and some of his gray hair fell over his face. "Results, ring?"

"Rift is possible gateway to another dimension." The ring announced.

"Aren't they always?" Groton chuckled.

"Advise increased distance." The ring warned. "The rift has an extremely strong gravity well."

"Alright." Groton nodded. "Prepare a report on this rift. It may have potential to interfere with space lanes-" He turned to dust.

"Lantern 6534 deceased." The ring intoned. "Searching for replacement." The ring zipped off, but got caught in a white-gloved hand, owned by a mysterious man wearing what looked like a blue suit and white collared sweater with the coat flowing like a cape. His blue hat seemed to keep half his face cloaked in shadow. Around his neck was a chained gold medallion.

"Your replacement will be found in the other end of the rift." The Phantom Stranger walked towards the rift like he was on an invisible bridge. "She will prove herself worthy." He released the ring, letting it fall into the rift. The Stranger stared at the rift, then walked away. He may not have been allowed to end a crisis directly, but he still could guide others to do what is needed. And that ring would be needed on that other world...

_**See you next chapter! Hope you enjoyed this! Would love a review, please!**_


	2. Alliance

**Infinity Crisis: The Inhumans**

**Disclaimer: **

**Since Michael Weyer did some commentary about his story and its evolution as he put some chapters of "Infinity Crisis" up, I thought I'd do the same for mine.**

**The original title I came up with for this story was "Inhuman Insanity". It was a good alliterative title, but I felt it was inappropriate for the story. I struggled to come up with another title, until "Infinity Crisis: The Inhumans" came along. It fit and said exactly what the story was: A tie-in to "Infinity Crisis" that focused on the Inhumans.**

**I also had originally planned for Gorgon to get dusted. But I changed my mind because I felt like it. Literally. I just changed my mind. Also, Auran's powers are a combination of comic and TV show.**

**Joey Tallarico is a semi-original character. He's based on a young boy named Joey who first appeared in _Amazing Adventures _#5(March 1971). Joey was an orphan boy who hung out with an amnesiac Black Bolt for a time in the comics. Appropriately, the last chapter established that the first Inhuman Royal this Joey met...was Black Bolt. I gave him the surname Tallarico as a nod to video game composer Tommy Tallarico. Among the games he made music for were _Time Crisis _and _Earthworm Jim._**

**Tana Moon is actually a DC character, one of the supporting cast of the Conner Kent/Kon-El Superboy back in the 90s. I was reading some of the 90s Superboy comics while I was planning out this story. _Infinity Crisis_ established Miles Morales existed in the Arrowverse world, so I thought that it would be fun to bring a DC character to the MCU. Also, the 90s Superboy series was set in Hawaii, and so was the Inhumans TV show. A nice bit of serendipity. **

**In the comics, the Power Prism was housing the consciousness of a Skrull criminal named Krimmon. The original idea was for Maximus and Krimmon's to collaborate, but I decided against it as I couldn't figure out how to make it work. Instead, the Prism is just an ancient artifact of incredible power. **

**Dave Dawson is a character from the Inhumans TV series. I gave him the last name "Dawson" as a nod to Stan Lee's love of alliterative names for characters. Also, I'm a wrestling fan, and it's a shout out to Scott Dawson, one half of The Revival. **

Chapter 2: Alliance

**Inside the Soul Stone**

A pair of steely blue-gray eyes opened. Their owner slowly got to his feet.

Blackagar Boltagon looked around, and down at himself. He was still wearing his swim trunks. The Inhuman King's eyes scanned the area around him. He seemed to be standing in a forest, his ears picking up the sound of a waterfall nearby.

"_...Where am I?" _The monarch asked himself. A moment ago, he was standing on a beach with his beloved Medusa, Crystal, and their human friend Dave Dawson. _"Wait..."_ His memory came back. He saw random people on the beach crumbing to dust...including himself. Was he in some sort of afterlife?

The whole area seemed to have an aura of relaxation. The forest, the waterfall, the smell of freshly-cut grass. It seemed to all have the purpose of putting his mind at ease. _"Is this that 'Heaven' that Joseph told me about once?"_ The Inhuman king mumbled. His sharp ears then picked up the sound of something moving. Moving fast. He looked around, and he was able to pick up a green and purple blur racing among the trees.

"WhereamIwhereamIwhat'sgoingonwhere'sLouise?!" The blur yelped over and over again. The blur stopped when it reached Black Bolt, revealing that it was Ozel. "Black Bolt!" She yelped.

"_Ozel."_ The Inhuman King nodded. He looked around. _"How long have you been here?"_

"Not very long. I don't know the exact time, but..."

"_Probably longer than me."_ Black Bolt nodded. An idea occurred to him. _"Ozel, have you been scouting this area?"_

"Yeah." Ozel nodded. "There's a lot of forest here. It's gigantic." She looked around and eyed the waterfall. "And I have no idea what that waterfall is doing here. I admit, I don't know much about Earth's geography..."

"Uhnnn..." A voice said. Black Bolt and Ozel turned and saw Dave Dawson walk towards them, rubbing his head like he was dealing with a headache. "What happened? Where are we?"

"_We are just as confused as you are, my friend."_ Black Bolt answered. _"This place looks like nowhere on Earth."_

"Is this what you humans call 'Heaven'?" Ozel asked.

"I imagine it is for somebody." Dave said.

"It hardly is Heaven." A man floated down towards them, clad in blue with a billowing red cape.

"Who in the name of the genetic code..." Ozel blinked.

"Do not be afraid." The man introduced. "I am Doctor Strange."

"...that cannot be your actual name." Ozel frowned.

"I think he's English." Dave remarked. Ozel and Black Bolt looked at him in confusion. "Strange is an English surname."

"_What is your purpose?" _Black Bolt asked.

"I am the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth." Strange explained. "And I know who you are, your Majesty."

"That's not impressive." Dave snorted, crossing his arms. "He and Medusa have been traveling around meeting world leaders and stuff like that."

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Ozel asked. "I've never seen this forest before."

"It is no ordinary forest." Strange said. "We are inside one of the Infinity Stones. The Soul Stone, to be exact."

"Infinity Stone?" Dave blinked. "What's that?"

"An Infinity Stone is a remnant of a singularity before the universe we know today was formed."

"_...I have heard of those things." _Black Bolt explained. _"We Inhumans have observed the universe, and learned much about what is out there in the stars."_

"It's said each of the six stones were scattered throughout the universe." Ozel added. "Each stone allowed god-like mastery of one aspect of the universe: Time, Mind, Soul, Reality, Space, and Power."

"_If a being obtained all six...they would become omnipotent."_

Dave's eyes widened and jaw dropped when he put it together. "You mean...these Stones...you could literally become God."

"Indeed." Strange nodded. "We are inside the Soul Stone." He glanced at Black Bolt. "How do you know about the Stones?"

"_We have observed the universe." _Black Bolt explained. _"We've seen the Stones. We've also heard about them."_

Strange frowned. "How?"

Black Bolt smirked in amusement._"Come now, Strange. Earth has telescopes. You think we Attilanians would not have those, either?"_

"Fair enough."

"Okay, so we're in this stone thing." Dave looked up at the sky, seeing it was solid orange. "...what do we do?"

"For now, you can help keep things calm here." Strange told them. "This place contains uncounted people from several alternate worlds. The Stone is trying to keep people calm, but some help would not hurt."

"_Understood."_ Black Bolt nodded. He heard the sound of rustling. The group turned their heads and saw a man walking towards them. He was a tall thin man, clad in green-and-white robes, complete with white leggings and green shoes. The figure's face was concealed by a green hood, and hands were concealed by the sleeves. The figure reached up (revealing the fingerless green gloves on their hands) and pulled back the hood, revealing a bald man with a well-groomed mustache and beard. He also had green lines painted around his face. _"Karnak."_

"I see you all have ended up here as well." The martial artist noted.

"Hi, Karnak." Dave and Ozel waved.

"I was searching for Jen." Karnak said. She was a nurse that helped Karnak after he suffered a concussion when he was exiled to Earth by Maximus. "I saw her crumble to dust. Since I did the same and ended up here, I assume she may be here as well."

"If she is, we haven't seen her."

"She isn't alone here." Strange told the Inhuman monk. "There are trillions of people in this Soul World."

"...how did this happen?" Karnak asked.

"A being called Thanos." Strange explained. "I learned of him from the Time Stone in my amulet." He gestured to his empty amulet. "And this world was not the only one affected. Many other alternate worlds were affected by his actions. Thanos's actions have threatened to collapse the multiverse."

"Multiverse." Dave repeated. "Did we just stumble into a Michael Moorcock novel?"

"Who's Michael Moorcock?" Ozel blinked.

"An Earth author." Karnak explained. Dave looked at him in confusion. "I enjoy going to the Hawai'i State Library. It's very peaceful."

"Right." Dave nodded.

"_We should get to work." _Black Bolt said. _"Maybe we can find a way out, and back to our loved ones..."_ His eyes glazed with sadness. _Medusa..._

**Somewhere in space**

Maximus streaked his way through the stars. He had spent the last several months practicing and testing the powers of the small crystal now adhered to the back of his right hand. His body was sheathed in a rainbow-colored aura. He had also figured out how to command the prism to make him a brand new outfit. It was predominately blue, with yellow over his left arm and side, and red over his right arm and side. The costume also had a green hood and purple cape. The mad Inhuman was not known for his fashion sense.

However, his thoughts were occupied by something else. The Power Prism on his hand had alerted him to a bizarre phenomenon that was happening seemingly everywhere he had gone.

_Beings crumbling to dust all over the universe..._ Maximus thought as he streaked through the sky, a frown on his face. _One one hand, that's good for me. Less annoying complaints and resistance to my rightful rule. On the other hand...less people to rule. Less people to order around. That will be annoying in its own way. _The mad Inhuman noticed something nearby. _Interesting..._

The thing he spotted was a fleet of ships floating in the void. Maximus had the Prism scan the ships for any life. The Power Prism had alerted him there was life on those ships...and the ships were Kree. This got Maximus curious. He streaked towards the ships. On the lead craft, the captain of the vessel was not in a very good mood.

"RAHHHH!" The captain, a burly man with white hair that had black streaks at the temples, and clad in the black-and-green Kree uniform, slammed another Kree officer against the wall. "Talk! Explain this to me!"

"We-we-we don't know, sir!" The unfortunate Kree crewman whimpered. "We got reports of this phenomenon all over the ships. We're getting reports that even _Hala_ was affected!"

"I just witnessed several of my bridge crew being turned to dust!" Captain Att-Lah snapped. "And you mean to tell me we know _nothing_ about what caused it?!"

"Sir, I gathered up the remains like you ordered. The science officer has run every test he can think of!" The crewman answered. "All we have been able to find is a miniscule amount of cosmic energy residue on the ashes. Like they were the victims of some weird cosmic event!"

"So, you're basically expecting me to believe that the cosmos decided to just go nuts one day and turn random members of my crew into dust?!" Att-Lah said.

"Well, that seems to be the best explanation."

Att-Lah growled. "What kind of being could do this?!"

"What kind of being, indeed?" A voice said. Att-Lah turned around and saw Maximus standing in the middle of the bridge. The remaining Kree crewmen jumped up and pointed their guns at the mad Inhuman. He looked around nonchalantly, an amused smile on his face. "Now, is that any way to treat a guest?"

"Who are you?!" Att-Lah growled. "And how did you get on this ship?!" He pulled out what looked like a futuristic gold-and-black sword hilt hooked on his belt.

_**FWASH! Vwummmm...**_

A golden energy aura erupted from the sword's blade as it sprouted from the hilt, and it seemed to vibrate at incredible speed. The Kree captain pointed the sword at Maximus like he was about to shove it into his gut at any second. "And did you reduce my crewmen to dust?!"

"I had nothing to do with the dusting phenomenon." Maximus assured. "I had noticed it going on everywhere."

"..._everywhere?!_" Att-Lah repeated in disbelief. He glanced at the crewman. _He **did** say that Hala was suffering from the same problem..._

"And as for how I got here..." Maximus smirked and held up his fist, showing the Power Prism. "My new little friend helped me with that."

Att-Lah's eyes widened in shock. _That cannot be!_ _The Power Prism!_ "...how? How did you get that?!"

"Let's just say fate has been kind to me." Maximus explained. "Very kind to me. But that's beside the point. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Maximus. And you are..."

"Captain Att-Lah, of the _KIINS Starvak._" Att-Lah stated, not putting down his vibro-sword. **(Author's note: KIINS means Kree Imperial Intergalactic Navy Starship)** "What are you doing on my ship?"

"I believe I know why your crew vanished." Maximus smiled. "Have you ever heard of...the Inhumans?"

**Honolulu**

"Lockjaw is on the way. Be safe." Triton told Joey.

"Thanks, Triton." Joey nodded. "See you in a minute." He shut off his communicator and put it in his pocket.

"So, you have the Royal Family on speed dial." Tana noticed.

"You got it." Joey winked. He saw Roberts trying to calm the remaining members of the crowd down. "Come on, we'd better help Jack Swaggert over there."

"Yeah, I guess so." Tana nodded in agreement. She eyed the cameras. "Are they still rolling?!" She glanced up at the production area. There was only one man there.

"No!" He said. "We shut them off when the chaos started! It's on a test pattern now!"

"Keep it that way!" Tana snapped. "I don't want people seeing this!" The two walked over to Roberts, who was talking to the crowd, trying to soothe them.

"I know, child." Roberts comforted a crying woman who was gripping his shoulder. "Just let it out."

"Why?" She whimpered. "My husband! Why?!"

"God..." Joey sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "What do we say to this?"

"I...I'm just as lost as you are here." The Polynesian woman looked nervously at Joey. "You don't suppose..."

"I know what you're going to say, Moon. And no, I _don't_ think the Inhumans were behind this. Just because Maximus was a psycho doesn't mean they all were."

"I mean, I can understand _why_ people like Roberts would think that. Doesn't mean he's right, but...I can understand it." She looked around. "Especially now. People are scared, Joey."

"Are you?"

Tana blinked. "Honestly? A little bit."

"You should spend some time with them. I think you'd be amazed." Joey smiled. A flash of light erupted, making the people freak out.

"Everyone! Stay calm!" Roberts commanded. "It's alright...I hope..." In the middle of the studio, materialized a large brown bulldog. Like Black Bolt, it had a small silver tuning fork-like growth on its forehead, and a big black mustache. "What in the name of-?!"

"Is that...a dog?" Tana blinked.

"Rowf! Ruff!" Lockjaw barked happily as it ran towards Joey. The sight of the large dog seemed to get the crowd's curiosity. They murmured in fascination at the royal pet.

"Hey there, big guy." Joey smiled as he got on one knee and started petting Lockjaw.

"What..._is_ that thing?" Roberts mumbled as he walked towards the Inhuman dog.

"It's a _dog_, Roberts." Tana told him dryly.

"Yeah, ain't you seen a dog before?" Joey smirked at the religious figure. Lockjaw walked towards Tana. "He's friendly. Give him a pet."

"Well, okay..." Tana reached over and started petting Lockjaw. The dog barked happily and started licking her. She smiled and giggled a bit.

"Ha ha, he likes you!" Joey chuckled. "You must be here because you want me to come to Attilan." Lockjaw nodded and held out his paw. Joey nodded. "Hey, Moon! You wanna see Attilan?"

"Well...I admit, I _am_ curious..."

"Just touch his paw." Joey said. He grabbed Roberts.

"Hey!"

"You wanna talk trash about the Inhumans?" Joey smirked. "Let's see you say what you said to me to their faces." He and Tana touched Lockjaw's offered paw. The woman glanced at the man in the production area.

"Keep an eye on these people. I'll be back!" She said.

"Wait, what?!" The dog barked and the tuning fork started to glow. In a flash of light, he vanished with his passengers. The audience all blinked and murmured in confusion. "...man, I get the feeling things are going to get a _lot_ crazier..."

**Attilan**

An thin Asian-American man appeared on the screen in the Command Area. This man was Harold Hee. A Korean-American, he was the mayor of Honolulu. His neat dark hair was graying at the sides, and he wore a pressed gray suit with a black tie.

"My constituents are getting rather nervous." Hee told the woman on the other end. "There's been a bit of a panic erupting over the disappearances." The man coughed a bit, as the woman he was speaking to was wearing a purple bikini...and showed to fill it quite well.

"It's affected us in Attilan as well, Mr. Mayor." Medusa told him. She and Crystal had returned to Attilan, but did not have time to change. "We've estimated that about half of the population has been turned to dust."

"We have not been able to get exact figures of the dusted here in Honolulu, but we estimate about half as well." Hee agreed, looking at a paper. "It's incredibly bizarre." He noticed a flash of light.

"Bark!" Lockjaw appeared. With him was Joey, Tana, and Billy Roberts.

"Welcome to Attilan!" Joey cheered. "We hope you enjoyed your ride on the Lockjaw Express."

"Transported by a giant alien dog...I think I need a drink..." Billy mumbled.

"Uhhh..." Hee blinked.

"I'm afraid we must talk later, Mr. Mayor." Medusa said apologetically. "But I do assure you, Attilan is not responsible for this. We are looking into it." She ended the transmission.

"Joey!" Crystal ran up to Joey and gave the author a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay, thank the genetic code of our ancestors!"

"Thanks, kid." Joey smiled. He then looked around. "I take it some of you got dusted."

"Auran." Gorgon nodded.

"We think Karnak may have gotten...dusted as well." Triton said. "I can't detect him anywhere in the city. I contacted his usual hangouts, but they have not seen him."

"You sure?" Joey blinked. "Karnak is weird. Maybe he just wandered off somewhere?"

Triton shook his head. "He's not responding to his communicator, either. My brother is strange, but he would never ignore a call from us...unless something happened."

"...Black Bolt." Medusa sighed sadly. "Turned to dust right in front of my eyes." Joey gave her a hug. "He turned to dust in front of me, and I couldn't save him..." The red-headed queen whimpered into his shoulder. Roberts and Tana just watched the interactions.

"This..." Roberts shook his head. He looked around at the ornate room. "This is...I...I can't even describe it."

"I have to admit...words fail me, too." Tana looked around, then watched Medusa hugging Joey. She could have sworn she heard the Queen of the Inhumans whimper and sob a bit. Her heart went out to the redhead. "Look at that, Roberts." She glanced at the preacher. "Maybe you're being a bit hard on them."

She looked around a bit, but then noticed Crystal approaching her.

"Joey, are they friends of yours?"

"Woof!" Lockjaw barked happily as he nudged at Tana.

"One is." Joey said. "Tana Moon. Billy Roberts."

"Aren't you that guy who claimed that we were alien invaders?" Gorgon frowned at the preacher.

"Uh, well, uh..." Roberts mumbled nervously, tugging at his collar.

"Yeah, that's him." Joey nodded with a snicker. Tana scowled.

"Is this _really_ appropriate right now?" She shot him a glare.

"...you got a point." A hiss was heard, and Dr. Fisher walked in from another room.

"Joey, I'm glad to hear you're alright." She hugged him.

"Glad to hear you're okay too, Doc." Joey noticed someone was missing. "I take it Ozel got dusted."

"Yes." She sighed sadly.

"Doctor Fisher has been helping us look into the dusting event." Triton explained.

"So far, I haven't been able to isolate the cause." Dr. Fisher explained. She glanced at Tana and Roberts. "Oh, I was unaware we had other guests." She walked over to them. "Tana Moon, I presume?"

"Uh, yeah." Tana shook Louise's hand. The blond scientist looked at Roberts.

"I saw Miss Moon's TV show. I enjoyed seeing Joey eviscerate you." She walked off, making Roberts blink in confusion.

"Am I missing something here?"

"You judge us unfairly, Mr. Roberts." Medusa explained. "Maximus's actions do not reflect on Attilan as a whole."

"Can you blame us? Considering what he did?" Roberts pointed out. "And there's a whole city _full_ of people like him."

"Roberts, shut up." Joey scowled.

Medusa frowned. "Maximus was a madman. It's hardly fair to judge us all based on his actions."

"Tallarico said the same thing." Roberts scowled. "But Maximus _did_ lead your people in an invasion of Hawaii, correct?"

"I cannot deny that." Medusa nodded. "But that was because he was able to enhance his power to control minds to make the residents of this city into his army."

"And you think we should not be afraid of you?" Roberts frowned. "I was there when it hit, Miss..."

"Boltagon. Medusalith Boltagon. And it's _Your Majesty._"

"_Miss Boltagon_." Roberts said, clearly showing he hadno desire to recognize her royal title. "I saw your people runnin' amok. I saw them attacking good men and women who had done nothing wrong. And you expect me to believe that won't happen again?"

"I was there too, jackass!" Joey snapped. "I helped stop him! Some Inhumans did work with Maximus willingly, but that was because he lied to them!"

"Ozel was one of them." Louise piped up.

"...who?" Roberts blinked.

"Green hair. Speedster." Louise explained. "She was my friend. She was one of those Inhumans that was fooled by Maximus. She was a good person. And she was one of the people dusted."

"After the invasion was stopped and Maximus was exiled, Blackagar and I allowed Ozel to stay with Louise. As a sort of cultural attache." Medusa explained.

"She worked with me in my lab." Louise explained. "She was helpful...but got bored easily."

"Maybe you should shut up for now, Roberts." Tana smirked.

"Indeed." Triton sighed sadly.

"You alright, man?" Joey asked, putting a hand on Triton's shoulder.

"...Fine, thank you." The aquatic Inhuman nodded in thanks. "I can't believe Karnak is gone. He and I may not have always agreed on things, and he drove me crazy on occasion, but...we were still brothers."

**Space**

"Inhumans?" Att-Lah scoffed. "An ancient experiment. A failure. I heard they were exterminated."

"Hardly." Maximus clarified. "They _thrived._ They've created their own civilization in the millennia since. Their great city of Attilan has recently come to Earth. Reuniting with their genetic cousins."

"And you think that they are responsible for this?" Att-Lah asked.

"Not necessarily." Maximus answered. "But they may know. And I'm sure you Kree would like to...finish them off."

"...you say those Inhumans lived. How do I know you are telling the truth?" Att-Lah frowned.

Maximus smiled. "Of course." He made the Prism play a hologram showing footage of the Royal Family. Of course, the "footage" was drawn from his memories. "I was one of their Royal Family. Earth was our rightful world. We were its rightful rulers, but the rest of them..." A sneer crossed his face as he looked at Black Bolt. "They wanted to introduce themselves to Earth in a more peaceful manner. The Inhuman genome also lied dormant in the Terrans for millenia. And then something happened to cause it to become active. **(Author's Note: In **_**Agents of SHIELD**_**)**" His face twisted as he gritted his teeth. "We had a world full of new subjects, in need of a ruler. And I was the man to rule them. But the others refused to see my vision. They called me Maximus the Mad. But they were the mad ones."

"So, these...Inhumans live. And they were responsible for this?" Att-Lah asked. He had put his sword away (to the relief of Maximus).

"Not necessarily. As far as I know, no Inhuman is powerful enough to do something like this." Maximus said. "But they may know who did this to your people."

A female Kree spoke up. "Sir, if there's a chance that the cause of this is on Terra, then we should take a look." Att-Lah glanced at her, then at Maximus.

"I have to speak with the High Command about this." Att-Lah said. "Keep an eye on our guest here. I'll be in my ready room." The Kreeman walked to a door on the side of the bridge. It opened, and he walked into a small room. Att-Lah's ready room was a small room, more like an office than a quarters. It had a desk with a computer on it. It did have several paintings on the dark green walls for decoration.

Att-Lah took a seat in the dark-red cushioned chair and punched in some commands on the computer. A face appeared on the screen, a dark-haired dark-skinned woman with a streak of gray in her hair appeared, dressed in the green-and-white Kree uniform. A smile was on her face.

"Att-Lah. It's good to hear you have survived." Admiral Jett-Lar said.

"Good to hear you have survived as well." Att-Lah nodded. "I wish I could say the same for some of my crew."

"It has been chaotic here on Hala." Jett-Lar said. "We're trying to get reorganized here. Has your fleet been hit bad?"

"About half the crew on each of the ships. We got some...information about the...dustings."

"Oh?" Jett-Lar cocked her head.

"A guest came on board our ship." Att-Lah leaned back and steepled his fingers. "He claims to know that the cause of this crisis may be on the world known as Terra."

Jett-Lar blinked her yellow eyes in disbelief. "...that backwoods world? Our people experimented on their primitive beings millenia ago. They had the potential for being mighty weapons, but they proved to be unruly."

"That traitor Mar-Vell grew to love that pithole. Gods know why." Att-Lah shrugged. "But, yeah. Our guest claims that they not only survived, but created a civilization there. He claims to be their rightful king. Also...he has the Power Prism."

Jett-Lar's eyes widened. "...what?"

"The Power Prism." Att-Lah repeated.

Jett-Lar frowned. "...you're dealing with a _very_ dangerous man here if he managed to get the Power Prism. I suggest you tread _very_ carefully. He says those ancient abominations are still alive, and they may know what caused our current problem?" She nodded. "Fine. Take your fleet to Terra. Find out what they know. And then finish them off. I would send another fleet to back you up, but..."

"Understood, ma'am. It will be done." Att-Lah nodded. He left his ready room, and noticed the Kree woman standing at the door, the one who spoke up earlier. "Has our guest behaved, Kona-Lor?"

"Yes, sir." She nodded. Att-Lah approached Maximus.

"I talked with my superiors." The Kree captain told the mad Inhuman. "She has authorized me to take my fleet to Earth." He turned to his crew. "Gather our forces! Set course for Terra! It's time to avenge our comrades!" He pumped his fist in the air, making the crew whoop and pump their own fists in the air. Maximus smirked.

_I pray to the genetic code of our ancestors you were not dusted, Blackagar. Because I want to see the look on your smug face..._

**Earth**

A rift opened in the void of space. A streak of green light raced out of the rift, which closed up right afterwards. The Green Lantern ring hovered over the blue planet.

"Scanning..." The ring intoned. "Replacement found." The ring streaked towards Earth.

* * *

**So, a bit of commentary here.**

**Dave's mention of Michael Moorcock is basically a bit of fun on my part. Considering this is a side story to a story dealing with a bunch of heroes from alternate universes teaming up, and multiverses are a theme of his work, I thought it'd be appropriate.**

**Att-Lah's name is a nod to Attila. As in Attila the Hun.**

**Kona Lor is a character that first appeared in _Avengers #364_ (July 1993).**

**I'll think you'll be very surprised as to who becomes Earth-A's Green Lantern. Stay tuned. ;)**


	3. Calm Before the Storm!

**Infinity Crisis: The Inhumans**

**Disclaimer: "There will be a reckoning...a _crisis_..." - Lex Luthor**

Chapter 3: Calm Before the Storm!

**Within the Soul Stone**

Ozel walked among the trees of the forest. She found it utterly bizarre. From what she understood, there were animals in the forests. But she heard nothing. No sounds of any animals one would expect in a forest like this. The green-haired Inhuman admired the large trees. They did not resemble the trees of Hawaii.

_These are not palm trees._ Ozel noted. _I wonder what kind of trees these are. Louise might know. I wish I could take a picture of this forest to show her. I'm sure she'd think they were neat...and she'd know I'm okay._ The speedster walked to the edge of the forest, and she saw a dark-haired woman sitting on a log in front of a lake. The green-haired young woman approached her carefully.

"Uh...hello?" Ozel greeted. The woman turned her head, revealing she was African-American.

"Oh, hello."

"My name is Ozel." Ozel introduced. "Ozel Ozlazur."

"Ozel?" The woman repeated in amusement. Ozel nodded. "That's quite a name you got there." She smiled in amusement.

"It's not an odd name where I'm from."

"Where's that?"

"Attilan."

The woman blinked. "...Attilan?"

"It's an ancient city that currently floats on the ocean near Honolulu." Ozel explained. "It's not exactly unknown."

"Saladhead, I would _know_ if there was a city floating on the ocean near Hawaii." The woman answered.

_Wait, that Strange guy **did** say that there were people from alternate worlds here. Maybe she's not from mine._ "Oh, I see. You must be from another universe."

"I guess so. This isn't the first time I've heard of that multiverse stuff." The woman shrugged. "Oh, I just realized. I never introduced myself." She smiled. "Iris West-Allen."

"Nice to meet you." Ozel smiled, shaking the offered hand. "Does your world have a Hawaii?"

"Yes."

"Oh, good. I live in my world's Hawaii now. I worked as a lab assistant."

"I was a reporter." Iris told Ozel.

"You said this multiverse stuff was not new to you." Ozel said. "What did you mean by that?"

"...in my world, I come from a place called Central City." Iris explained. "It has a superhero protector called the Flash." Iris told the green-haired Inhuman. "He was called that because he had super-speed."

"He was a speedster? Like me?" Ozel grinned.

"You're a speedster?"

Ozel nodded. "Yes, I got my speed powers thanks to the Terrigen Mists."

"...Terri-what?" Ozel then explained the reporter about the Inhumans and the Terrigen Mists, as well as about Attilan...and her history with it. Iris took a moment to process it all in. "So, let me get this straight. You're an Inhuman. And Inhumans are descendants of early man that was experimented on by an alien race."

"Yes, the Kree." Ozel elaborated, sitting down next to Iris. "They wanted to create weapons. Thing was, those early Inhumans didn't take too kindly to being simply Kree guns. So, they drove them off world. But those experiments enhanced those early Inhumans in many ways, and they knew they would never be re-accepted by their kind. So, they created Attilan. It was their refuge, their safety, until one day they could rejoin humanity." Ozel smiled. "Among my people, there's a bit of a legend."

"A legend?"

"Yup." Ozel nodded. "It concerned two Inhuman exiles named Phadion and Rhaya. On Ancient Earth, they had a child named Tuk. He traveled the ancient world, having many adventures before finally finding Attilan. Among them were rescuing a princess of ancient Atlantis from evil witches and put her back on the throne." [**Author's Note: A nod to **_**Captain America Comics #4-5 **_**(June-August 1941)]**

_Her world has legends of Atlantis, too..._ Iris thought in amazement. The reporter had heard rumors of an ancient city under the seas, but thought of it as bunk. But in recent years, she began to wonder...could it be true?

"It's my favorite story." Ozel smiled. "I envied Tuk. He got to be free. He got to do whatever he wanted. It must have been fun."

"Strict childhood, huh?"

"...sort of." Ozel explained. "You see, among my people, we had a caste system. No social mobility. What you were meant to do with your life was chosen, and you were stuck. When I underwent Terrigenesis, I was given the job of a courier. Basically, I was stuck as a...mailman, correct?"

Iris shrugged. "I guess so."

"Yeah." Ozel nodded. "I hated it. I wanted to do more with my life. That's when I heard of Maximus. He had claimed to want to end the caste system, give us social mobility. For somebody who wanted the freedom to choose what to do with their life, it was appealing."

"I see."

"Yeah." Ozel continued her story, how she encountered Dr. Louise Fisher and Medusa alongside Auran. Despite her obviously superior speed, Fisher was able to knock the green-haired Inhuman out cold by ambushing her with a fire extinguisher. When Ozel woke up, she found herself securely tied to a chair, which itself was tied to a column to keep it from moving.

From there, Fisher and Medusa were able to convince her and Auran of the truth: That Maximus only wanted the throne, and he couldn't have cared less about his flunkies' desire for freedom and an end to the caste system. He also had a much darker plan: to use the Attilanians as an army to conquer the Earth. Horrified, the two agreed to help the other Royals stop Maximus. After that whole thing, Attilan ended up on the Pacific Ocean near Honolulu, Black Bolt exiled Maximus to a world with no intelligent life, Auran returned to the Royal Guard, and Ozel decided to live in Hawaii with Dr. Fisher until she could figure out something for herself.

"That's some story." Iris noted. "I do hope you find something for yourself."

"Thanks." Ozel smiled. "You know, it's funny. Now that I have the freedom to decide what I want to do with myself...I have no idea what I want. I've been working with Louise as an assistant in her lab for now, though. She's very nice."

"Well, that's good." Iris then smiled. "You know, you said you were a speedster, right?" Ozel nodded. "Well, in my world, there is a speedster that is a hero. They call him the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive."

Ozel perked up in curiosity. "I'm listening..."

**Outside the Solar System**

Captain Att-Lah's fleet arrived at the edge of the solar system. Att-Lah himself sat in the center, his captain's chair was in the center of the room. Next to him were two other chairs on each side of him, Maximus sitting on the one to his right. Behind him was the security/tactical console, helmed by Kona-Lor. In front of was a long console, operated by three other crewmen. The center had navigation, the left was ship operations, and the right was engineering. The bridge was silent, the occupants concerned with doing their jobs.

Despite this, there was desire for vengeance in the eyes of everyone on the bridge. For the Kree, it was to avenge their fellow crewmates. For Maximus, it was to avenge what he felt was his lost throne and world.

"Does your ship have any sort of cloaking capacity on it?" Maximus asked the captain. The Kreeman was sitting in his chair.

"Yes. Experimental, but it has it."

"I would suggest you use it." Maximus told him. "Attilan can detect ships in space."

Att-Lah nodded. "Good to know." He got up and turned his head to Kona-Lor, who was operating a console behind him. "Contact the other ships. Activate the cloaks."

"Aye, sir." She said, following his order. Att-Lah took his seat.

"You are eager." Maximus noted.

"I consider my crew the finest in the Empire." Att-Lah explained. "They have proven themselves time and again. I trust them with my life. I want the heads of whoever did this. And if the parties responsible are on Terra, then that is where we shall avenge them."

"I do wish to warn you of something, Captain." Maximus frowned. "This planet has powerful defenders. Including my family. I would not underestimate them."

"I shall keep that in mind." Att-Lah noted.

"Cloaks active, sir." Kona-Lor announced. Att-Lah got up from his seat and marched closer to the viewscreen. He then put his hand on the shoulder of the crewman at the navigation station.

"My apologies for my actions earlier, crewman." The captain told him. "I acted in an undisciplined manner."

The crewman blinked at this. "Uhm...thank you, sir." Att-Lah nodded. "We all were hit hard by the...dustings, sir."

"Indeed." Att-Lah noted. He turned to his crew. "Today is a day where we avenge our lost comrades! We shall take the blood of the beings who took their lives!" The crew whooped and pumped their fists in the air. Maximus was the only one on the bridge who did not join in the crew's cheering. Instead, he was thinking. And a smirk crossed his bearded face as he came up with an idea...

**Attilan**

Billy Roberts stood out on a ledge in the Royal Family's palace. The preacher had leaned forwards, his hands gripping a golden railing. He had gazed out at the city of Attilan. From Honolulu, it was not hard to glance the golden spires of the city. But up close, it was something else. There were many smaller buildings in the city, in a wide variety of colors. The preacher noted that the city had plenty of gardens, including a large park that reminded Roberts of Central Park in New York City. He had held a revival event there six months earlier.

The city seemed to have a certain vibe to the preacher. Despite the clearly colorful buildings with their futuristic technology, there was a feeling that the city was unified with nature.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Roberts found himself taken out of his reverie by Tana Moon. "Penny for your thoughts, Roberts?"

"I was just gazin' out upon this city." Roberts answered. "Look at it."

"Yeah." Tana said. "You feeling a bit out of place here, huh? Don't blame you, really. Both Joey and Dr. Fisher have experience with the Inhumans, and Fisher is a big-time genius, so..."

"...remind me to give that Tallarico a piece of my mind later on." Roberts scowled.

"Still mad about him bringing you here?" Tana teased with a smile.

"That man can be...irritating." Roberts sighed. "Look at this. I can't believe these Inhumans managed to create something like this."

"The Inhumans claimed that Attilan was advanced when humanity was still figuring out fire."

Roberts frowned. "Sounds rather arrogant to me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Bragging about how great you supposedly are. Pride is a sin, after all."

"Eh, nothing wrong with a _little_ pride." Tana admitted. "I was told that it was because of some aliens called Kree they exist."

"Of _course_ they're aliens."

"Not really." Tana said. "According to that Fisher woman, the Inhumans _are_ human. They came from early man, experimented on by the Kree."

"No offense, Miss Moon, but I would hardly consider a woman who can make her hair move around 'human'."

"Genetically, the Inhumans are our cousins." Louise Fisher told them as she walked up. With her was a young male Inhuman that was dressed in a green-and-black outfit and carrying a tray with a couple mugs of coffee on it. The Inhuman himself had a tanned complexion, with wild brown hair that looked more like vegetation than hair.

"Coffee. Drink of the gods." Tana smiled gratefully as she took a mug.

"I grew it myself." The Inhuman smiled.

"Jolen here is quite the skilled botanist." Fisher nodded approvingly. Roberts blinked.

"Son...what's wrong with your hair?"

Jolen blinked in confusion. "...nothing."

"Nothing?!" Roberts exclaimed. "Your hair looks like a batch of weeds!"

"It's part of his Terrigenesis transformation." Fisher explained.

"I underwent it when I came of age." Jolen added. "The genetic code of my ancestors blessed me with the power of nature."

Roberts frowned. "But you'll never know the joys of being a husband and father. I mean...look at you. You look like you got a forest growing out of your head." Jolen blinked in confusion at that. The preacher noticed that Tana and Louise both had cups of coffee...and there wasn't a third cup. "Uhm...Jolen, right? I noticed there's only two cups of coffee there."

"Roberts, you're in a city full of beings like Jolen. There are people here with wings, claws, and fur and feathers." Louise snorted in amusement. She had to admit, seeing the preacher being flustered by Attilan was rather humorous. "And..._two_ cups?" She smiled. "I had forgotten you were here."

_Lord, give me strength..._ Roberts sighed. "I'll go find myself something to drink around here." He went inside.

"I...I should go with him. He's not familiar with this place." Jolen suggested.

"Good idea, Jolen." Louise nodded. "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself." The plant-like Inhuman nodded and went inside after him. The two women watched him leave.

"Not a fan of the preacher, are you?" Tana noted.

"I've never really had much use for religion." Louise explained. "I've had even less use for people like Roberts who use it to justify being bigoted. The Klan claimed to be Christian, too." She saw something in the sky. "Huh?"

"What're you looking at?" Tana blinked.

"Look." The blonde scientist pointed up in the sky. The Polynesian woman squinted and used her hand as a makeshift shade.

"What..." A small green light seemingly came through the dome that covered Attilan without damaging it. The green light streaked towards the two women. "That's definitely no shooting star!"

"Tana Moon of Earth." The ring intoned as it put itself on her finger. "You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."

"Gah!" Tana yelped as her body became awash with green light.

"Yipe!" Louise squeaked out as she got knocked over. The blonde got back to her feet as the light faded, revealing Tana's new outfit: A sleek green-and-black suit with green boots and white gloves. Her eyes were covered by a green domino mask, and on her chest was an emblem of a green ring with two horizontal parallel bars on the top and bottom in a white circle. "Tana!"

"I...I think I'm okay..." The TV host said. "This thing said that I'm part of the Green Lantern Corps, whatever that is."

"Error! Error!" The ring intoned. "Unable to contact Oa!"

"What's Oa?!" Tana asked.

"A Netflix show." Louise explained. "It is weird."

"Oa is the home planet of the Guardians of the Universe." The ring said. "They are the leaders and creators of the Green Lantern Corps." The ring showed an image of the Guardians. Tana eyed the short blue beings with white hair. They wore red robes accompanied by white tabards with the Green Lantern logo on them.

"Wait...this thing was made by little blue men." Tana noted.

"I spy some little blue women there, too." Louise noted, getting a scowl from Tana.

"Thanks. You are so helpful right now." Tana looked down at her costume. "What's with the green spandex here? I have to admit, it feels comfortable, but..."

"It is your uniform, Lantern 2814." The ring told her.

"My name is Tana." The talk show host said to the ring.

"2814 is the sector of space that you are to patrol, Lantern 2814."

Louise blinked. "Space sector?"

"What, like a police officer?" Tana blinked.

"Basically."

"But, I'm not a cop! I'm a talk show host! What do you think I would know about being a cop?!"

"It is why you would be brought to Oa. To be trained." The ring explained. "But I cannot contact Oa."

"Are you damaged in some way?" Louise asked.

"Negative." The ring responded. "Self-diagnostic reveals no damage."

"...how did you even get here?" Tana asked. "And how do I turn this outfit off? I'm not doing the space cop thing."

"My last ringbearer was turned to dust while examining a rift in space."

Louise and Tana looked at each other in amazement.

"Dusted..." Louise whispered.

"Per procedure, I went to find a new ringbearer. But I was caught by a stranger. The stranger put me in the rift, saying I would be needed here."

"Wait, you said your previous bearer was also dusted?" Louise said.

"Yes."

"And you said you were brought here by a rift?"

"Affirmative."

"What're you getting at?" Tana grumbled.

"...it's been theorized that rifts in space can potentially be portals to other dimensions." Louise explained.

"So, this ring is from another universe." Tana realized. "It figures. Why not? Superheroes and aliens are real, why not something from the mind of Michael Moorcock?"

"I didn't know you enjoyed his works." Louise grinned.

"...I read _The Final Programme _in college once. That's besides the point! How do I shut this outfit off?"

"Use your willpower." The ring told her.

Tana blinked. "...whut?"

"Use your willpower." The ring repeated. "Green Lanterns' power comes from their will."

"Is that why you came to Tana, because she has a strong will?" Louise said.

_Considering my line of work, a strong will is only helpful._ The talk show host thought. "How do I just turn off this uniform? Just think it?" She sighed and closed her eyes. "I better not end up naked..."

"I think Joey would love that." Louise cracked with an amused grin. Tana cracked an eye open.

"I will punch you. Very hard."

"No, you will not." The ring reassured. "In fact, you are allowed to redesign your uniform. This design is the standard for humanoids. Only rules are the color green and the emblem must be prominent."

"Okay, then." Tana closed her eye and concentrated. Her body started to glow green. The glow faded, revealing the woman was back in her civilian clothes. Tana opened her eyes, and she grinned in satisfaction. "I did it!"

"Congrats." Louise smiled. "I want to take a look at that ring. I have a lab here in Attilan. Maybe I can-" She was interrupted by the sound of a ruckus. "What the...?"

"I bet that preacher has something to do with it. Come on." Tana took off her ring and glanced at it. "We'll talk about this space cop thing later." She pocketed the powerful piece of jewelry as she followed Louise.

Earlier, Roberts was looking around as he walked down a hall, Jolen right behind him. The preacher noted the walls appeared to be made of white marble, with colorful curved lines painted on them.

"I have to admit...it looks very impressive." Roberts confessed.

"Indeed." Jolen smiled. "This place was built by the finest artisans of Attilan."

"You Attilan guys love your art, huh?" Roberts noted.

"Yes." Jolen nodded. "Our people lived in isolation for most of our history. As such, we would have gone insane if we just had to look at drab gray buildings all the time."

"I...I can imagine." Roberts said. "Let me ask you something...Jolen, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you ever look...human?"

"Yes, in the past." Jolen nodded. "I was blessed with this appearance when I underwent Terrigenesis."

"What's Terrigenesis?"

"When an Inhuman comes of age, they're taken to a special place. There, they're bathed in the Terrigen Mists, a transformative gas created by special crystals. The Mists unlock our genetic potential and reveal our true selves."

"I've seen some of those other poor souls in this city." Roberts frowned. "Your mists turn men into monsters."

"Monsters?" Jolen blinked in confusion. "How are we monsters?"

"I haven't forgotten what you all have done in Hawaii."

"You mean the invasion. Most of our people were mind-controlled by Maximus."

"Maybe if those Mists did not give him that unnatural power he has, maybe that invasion would never have happened."

"Maximus was a madman." Jolen countered. "Even if he had no 'superpowers', he would still have remained a power-hungry madman. His powers had nothing to do with that."

"The fact remains that you allow yourselves to be transformed into monsters." Roberts said. "Inhuman is the perfect word to describe all of you. Because that is what you all are."

Jolen shook his head. "I think it's sad that you judge us in such a manner. For us Inhumans, appearances are not important."

"That explains why this place is so messed up." Roberts grumbled. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just where can I get some coffee around here? I _know_ you know what that is." _Lord give me strength..._

Jolen frowned. "Follow me. I'll show you to my garden." The two continued on. "To us, the Terrigen Mists are sacred. It is believed they reveal our true selves."

"..._true_ selves?" Roberts blinked in astonishment. "You mean...you're _supposed_ to look like that?!"

"The genetic code of my ancestors willed it."

_These people worship __**DNA!**__ Lord, help me..._ "But...don't you..._miss_ being normal?"

"Normal?"

"Yes. Looking more like me instead of...like a walking talking forest. You know, looking normal."

"This _is_ normal to me." Jolen explained.

_Ugh..._Roberts pinched the bridge of his nose. _This is going to be harder than I thought._ "What I mean is...you shouldn't look like this. It's not natural."

"But it is to me-" Jolen then suddenly seemed to collapse. Roberts moved to help the Inhuman gently down.

"What in the...?" The preacher noticed a communicator on his wrist. The preacher took it and spoke into it, calling for help. Gorgon, Joey, Tana, and Louise arrived.

"What did you _do, _Roberts?" Joey exclaimed.

"I did nothing!" He snapped. "GAH!" He found himself angrily grabbed by Gorgon and slammed into a wall.

"Tell the truth!" The powerhouse roared at the preacher angrily.

"I am!" Roberts yelped. "I am! I swear to God!" A tentacle of red hair wrapped itself around Gorgon's arm.

"Calm yourself, Gorgon." Medusa ordered as she, Crystal, and Lockjaw marched into the room. "Attacking one of our guests will not solve anything."

"Is this the way you treat your 'guests' around here?!" Roberts snapped as Gorgon put him down gently.

"Normally no, but to be fair, Attilan doesn't often get visitors." Crystal cracked. Lockjaw growling at Roberts.

"Roberts, just be grateful he didn't decide to throw your ass off this tower." Joey sneered. He glanced at Jolen, who was being looked over by Tana and Louise. "Is he alright?"

"...he's in some form of deep sleep." Louise noted. "I have to take him to my lab."

"Allow me." Gorgon gently lifted up Jolen.

"Its been happening all over Attilan. Inhumans falling into states like this." Medusa explained.

"So...why not us?" Crystal pointed. "We're still okay."

"If you ask me, I think we're being targeted." Gorgon grumbled.

"Yeah." Joey agreed. "I got a bad feeling about this..." An alarm klaxon erupted. "Oh, no..."

"What's going on?!" Roberts asked in confusion.

"This is bad. This is real bad." Crystal mumbled as Lockjaw whimpered.

"Talk to me, Triton." Medusa commanded on her commlink.

"Sensors detected several ships heading for Honolulu!" Triton exclaimed. "They're Kree in design!" The Inhumans scowled.

"...Kree? Agon's Genes, what could the Kree want _here?_" Crystal asked.

"Earth has become a surprisingly significant planet in recent years..." Medusa frowned. She glanced at Gorgon. "Gorgon, take Jolen there to Louise's lab."

"I'll see if I can find out what made him and the rest of Attilan fall asleep...and why we're still awake." Louise assured Medusa as Gorgon gently carried Jolen away. Tana followed them.

"I have faith in you, Doctor." The redheaded queen smiled slightly. It then fell a bit. _If only she could restore Blackagar and Karnak..._ The remainder of the group went to the command center. Billy followed with a scowl on his face and wisely kept his mouth shut.

"We're getting a transmission." Triton reported.

"Show it." Medusa frowned. The screen then showed the image of Captain Att-Lah.

"People of the Earth city of Honolulu." Att-Lah stated. "I am Att-Lah, Captain of the _KIINS Starvak._ A mysterious dusting phenomenon has wiped out half of my crew. I have been told that the cause of the phenomenon resides here. You will produce the perpetrator, so they will be brought to Hala and prosecuted. If the being responsible for this atrocity is not brought to us within two of your Earth hours, it will be regarded as an act of war, and we _will_ respond accordingly."

Medusa sneered. "Triton, contact Mayor Hee. He may have seen this, and I want him to know that if Att-Lah tries anything...Attilan, as they say here, has his back."

**Honolulu**

In his office, Harold Hee watched this with concern.

"Oh, hell..." He muttered. An aide burst in.

"Sir, did you-"

"Oh, I saw it!" Hee groaned. "Can we get Queen Medusa on the line?!"

"We just got a call from Triton." The aide explained. "He just told us that Attilan has Honolulu's back."

Hee was able to figure out what the fish-like Royal meant. "God help Queen Medusa."

**Attilan**

"Open a channel with the _Starvak._" Medusa commanded.

"Channel open."

"Captain Att-Lah. I am Queen Medusa of Attilan." The redhead stated. "You have mentioned a...dusting phenomenon, correct?"

Att-Lah's face showed on the screen. "Yes."

"That phenomenon has hit on Earth as well. Like your crew, much of the population has vanished as well. What makes you think that the cause was here?"

"We received some information that the cause was here." Att-Lah explained.

"...who told you this? The cause was neither here in Attilan nor in Honolulu."

Att-Lah looked off-screen for a moment, like he was being given instructions. The Kree captain nodded.

"My ship has a guest." Att-Lah walked off-screen. A figure wearing a blue mask that only revealed white lenses showed themselves. The figure's head glowed in rainbow colors before revealing a smirking dark-haired man with a beard, his hair and beard neatly-trimmed. Medusa gasped and eyes widened.

"...Maximus."

"You still remember me, Medusa. I can't help but be touched. I, of course, remember you."

"What is the meaning of this?!" An angry Medusa growled. "How did you escape your exile?! Did these Kree men help you?!"

Maximus chuckled. "Medusa, my dear sister-in-law. You really believe I needed the help of the Kree? Oh, no. You see..." A grin spread on his face. "Fate was kind to me." He held up the back of his right hand. The Inhumans gasped.

"The Power Prism..." Triton mumbled.

"What is that?!" Billy asked.

"The Power Prism." Crystal explained. "An ancient artifact of great power. It allows the user to create constructs of solid light. The limit is the wearer's imagination. The Prism can allow its wearer to become intangible, even fly through space without any form of protection."

"So...this Prism can make a man a god." Roberts remarked.

"Basically. If you believe in such beings." Crystal answered.

"You do not believe in God? That makes sense, actually."

"We've seen beings be worshipped as them, but we Inhumans pray to our ancestors' genetic codes." Crystal told him.

_That Jolen guy muttered something about the DNA of his ancestors earlier. What bizarre creatures._ Roberts thought.

"How did you get the Power Prism?!" Medusa demanded.

"As I said. Fate." Maximus chuckled. He then noticed something. "Tell me, where is my dear brother Blackagar?"

Medusa clenched her fists and tightened her face. "...he was dusted."

"Oh, that's a shame. I wanted to see the look on his face when he learned his dear brother was coming home."

"Why have you brought these Kree here?" Medusa growled.

"Why, they wanted to know who dusted their men."

"So, you told them it was us?!" Medusa growled.

_I knew it. I knew it!_ Roberts grumbled. _These Inhumans are nothing but trouble! The whole lot of them!_

"We did not cause this!" Crystal yelped.

"Woof!" Lockjaw barked.

"We demand to know who did!" Att-Lah barked.

"We are just as in the dark as you are, Captain." Triton said. "We've been looking into it. So far, all we have was that there was this huge burst of energy in the area known as Wakanda. And then the dusting happened."

"So this 'Wakanda' is where it happened?" Att-Lah asked.

"We believe that's where it started." Triton answered. Att-Lah turned to his communication officer, making a 'cut transmission' gesture. With that, the screen shut off.

"Well, awful rude." Joey snorted, crossing his arms. He then glanced at Medusa. "You okay?"

Medusa started to nod, then shook his head. "No. Blackagar is gone, Maximus is back, and now he brought the Kree at our damned door. And not to mention the remaining Inhumans are under a mysterious slumber."

"We should have killed him when we had the chance." Triton grumbled. Back in the ship, Att-Lah glanced at Maximus.

"We should head to this 'Wakanda' place." The Kree captain told him. "If that's where this thing started, then the cause likely is there."

"Perhaps..." Maximus frowned in thought. "But there is another possibility."

"Go on."

"The one that caused this could no longer be there." Maximus suggested. "Maybe the being fled to Honolulu."

"For what purpose?"

"Search me." Maximus smirked. "But I would also see this is as a blessing."

"For what?"

"You Kree never really got over that little Inhuman rebellion, did you?" Maximus taunted. "After all, the Kree are the mightiest race in the universe! Superior to all others! Those primitive humans should _never_ have been able to drive you off that backwoods planet..." The mad Inhuman's eyes twinkled at Att-Lah's bristling. "And as I said earlier, they may know something."

_Hmmm..._ Att-Lah's brow furrowed in thought. _Admiral Jett-Lar **did** authorize me to eliminate the Inhumans..._ "You have a plan?"

"Indeed." Maximus told the Kree man. "And it involves the little city of Honolulu..."

**Louise's Attilan Lab**

Louise Fisher ran a futuristic device over the sleeping body of Jolen.

_I will never cease to be amazed at the equipment I get to work with here._ The blonde woman thought as she scanned Jolen. _I have to thank Medusa...again, for arranging this for me. This seems insane. First, half the Inhumans here turn to dust, then the other fall into this deep sleep..._ Meanwhile, Tana Moon and Gorgon were leaning back against a wall. The dark-skinned horse-hoofed Inhuman was quietly watching Louise work, while Tana was looking over the Green Lantern ring in her hand. Gorgon noticed this and blinked in curiosity.

"What is that?" He pointed at the ring.

"I am a Green Lantern ring." The ring stated.

"Yeah, evidently it came to me and said I was the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814 or some other thing like that." The Polynesian woman told Gorgon.

"What's a Green Lantern?"

"Some kind of space cop, I think."

"Sounds to me like you've been given quite the responsibility." Gorgon noted.

"I'm not sure about it." Tana frowned. "I have a life, a job. I can't just...drop all of that and gallivant through space." She looked the ring over. "You know, this thing came here from a rift in space. From another dimension."

"Really?" Gorgon blinked.

"Yeah."

"What does it do?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. It gave me a fancy uniform." She shrugged. The ring always was cooperative before... "Hey ring, what can you do?"

"I use light to create solid constructs." The ring explained. "The light is concentrated willpower, which is the reason my light is green. It is the central color in the visual spectrum, and the color of life. Willpower is the center of the emotional spectrum, the thing that helps keep the other emotions in check."

Gorgon and Tana looked at each other. _Emotional spectrum?_ They thought at the same time. Tana quickly shook her head. She'll ask about that later.

"So, all I have to do is will you to make a construct, and you can use light to do it?"

"Yes." The ring answered. "But my power charge will run out if you keep using me."

"Okay, makes sense." Tana blinked. She turned the ring around and examined. "What do I do? Do I plug you into a wall socket or..."

"Summon your battery." The ring told her. "The Power Battery resides in a pocket dimension which allows you to summon it whenever you need it."

"Well, that's...handy." Tana admitted.

"Indeed." Gorgon nodded in agreement. The two heard a klaxon.

"Can you two please go see what that is?" Louise asked. "I'm kind of occupied here."

"On it." Gorgon went over to a screen. He tapped some buttons on the control pad below it. "Speak to me."

Crystal's face appeared on the screen. "Gorgon! A bunch of Kree ships have appeared over Honolulu! They're attacking the city!"

"I an take over for Triton in the control room." Louise offered. "He'll be needed out there."

Tana pulled her new Green Lantern ring out of her pocket and glanced at it. _Looks like I'll have to play superhero after all..._

**Medusa and Maximus's exchange pays a little nod to _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. _I love that movie.**


	4. The Storm Builds

**Infinity Crisis: The Inhumans**

**Disclaimer: "Merlin lives!" - Arthur, _Excalibur (1981)_**

Chapter 4: The Storm Builds

**Inside the Soul Stone **

Black Bolt flew around in the bright orange skies. The King of the Inhumans glanced down at the forested ground. The monarch's mind was racing.

_How many? _The dark-haired man wondered as he looked down at the people. _How many people from how many worlds? Attilan's scientists have long theorized the existence of a multiverse...as Joey would say, "Hell of a way to prove it"..._

"Penny for your thoughts, your majesty?" A voice broke the Inhuman royal's reverie. He turned and saw Doctor Strange floating nearby, sitting in a lotus stance...despite there being nothing for him to sit on.

"_Strange."_

"I see you have been keeping an eye on things."

"_Not much else to do around here." _He glanced around. _"Scientists in Attilan have theorized that something like a multiverse may exist, but **this**..."_

"They're more right than you can imagine." Strange gestured around. "Uncounted people from equally uncounted alternate worlds. I knew of alternate dimensions thanks to my studies in Kamar-Taj. Every existence, multiplied by possibility and spread out in space and time in infinite measure."

"_And all these lives here...why?"_

"To satisfy the insane desires of a madman." Strange explained. "Thanos believes he's doing the multiverse a favor, but he's really dooming it." He shook his head. "It can't take a loss of life at this level. And all because he believes there are too many people in the universe."

"_How does he know that?" _Black Bolt asked.

"I doubt he does." Strange told the Inhuman.

"_Men like him are fools."_ Black Bolt grunted. _"My brother lusted for the power of the Attilan throne, yet he did not realize the position of king came with great responsibilities."_ He shook his head. _"I would not be surprised if Thanos was completely wrong about his mad idea of the universe being overpopulated."_

"I would not be surprised, either." Strange concurred.

"_I just wish I knew what was going on back in Attilan. I hope Medusa is alright. The last I saw her was on a beach in Hawaii..."_

"Oh yes, your city ended up floating next to Hawaii." Strange recalled. "I imagine it must be quite a change for your people, having lived on the Moon for so long."

"_My people have gone through a bit of an upheaval lately."_ Black Bolt admitted. _"The sudden Terrigenesis of Inhumans on Earth, Maximus causing his uprising, which ended up causing Attilan to be stuck on Earth, and we also abolished the caste system. So, we have been rather busy lately."_

"Not to mention the royal duties." Strange reminded.

"_Indeed." _Black Bolt nodded. _"And now this. My people have endured much over the past year."_

"They will get through it." Strange assured. "They're a stronger people than you realize...and you're a better king than you think."

Meanwhile, Ozel had been enraptured by Iris West-Allen's tales of the Flash.

"Wow..." The green-haired superfast Inhuman mumbled in awe.

"Yes." Iris smiled. "The Flash is amazing, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's awesome!" Ozel nodded. "That's really neat, that he uses his speed powers to save the world..."

"Do you?"

"Well, no..." Ozel admitted. "I've been working in a lab as an assistant. I've...left my home."

"I see..."

"Yeah." The green-haired Inhuman nodded. "I haven't set foot in Attilan ever again since Maximus got exiled. I...I never could bring myself to do so." She sighed. "I guess...I guess I was ashamed, you know? I let my desire for freedom get the better of me. I let that desire for freedom make me into a tool of a madman. Nothing will erase that."

"You ended up helping this Maximus guy save your home, right?" Iris asked.

"Mm-hmm." Ozel nodded. "And...the Royal Family of Attilan...they _did_ pardon me and let me come live in Hawaii with Dr. Fisher, but I sometimes wonder if I deserve it. I've never talked to anyone about this..."

"Well, I think you do." Iris said to the green-haired Inhuman. "You're a bit of a hero yourself, you know."

"Like that Flash guy, right?"

Iris nodded. "I think that maybe...the Flash became who he is because he wanted to make up for something too, in a way." She thought back to how Barry Allen's mother was murdered when he was a boy. "We all are haunted by things that we regret. That we wish we could change. But sometimes...we can't change them. We just have to learn with them, and learn _from_ them. You understand, Saladhead?"

Ozel thought about Iris's words for a small bit of time. "...yeah. Yeah, I suppose." The young green-haired Inhuman nodded. She then realized something. "Oh yeah, King Blackagar told me to go help keep the people here happy. I've been wasting time."

"Oh, you made me happy with our conversation, so if I were this 'Black Bolt' guy, I'd be pretty proud."

"Hey, thanks." Ozel grinned, giving a little thumbs-up. "Thank you for letting me vent a bit. It was...a relief."

"Sure." Iris smiled. "Good luck to you, kid." Elsewhere inside the stone, Dave Dawson was wandering around, just taking in the sights.

_Never thought you'd end up like this, huh Dave?_ He thought. _Man, it sure is pretty here. I'm guessing the Stone is making it like this so we'll be happy...hope I don't have to spend the rest of my life here. That would stink, and poor Crystal would be pretty sad._

"Mommy?" A voice cried out, getting Dave's attention. The surfer looked around in confusion until he spied a little girl, around six years old, wandering around a beach. Her eyes and cheeks were wet with tears.

_Aw, geez..._ Dave inwardly winced. _I didn't realize that this "snap" thing would take kids, too. That is just...that doesn't seem right._

"Mommy?" The little girl whimpered, wiping her eyes. "Where's Mommy?"

"Hey there, kid." Dave smiled as he walked up to the girl. "How are you?"

The girl sniffled as she looked up at Dave. "Hello?"

"What's your name? Mine's Dave." The surfer introduced himself. The girl sniffled.

"Mommy said I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Normally, your mama's right on." Dave nodded in agreement. "But right now, we're going to need to work together. What's your name?"

"S-Sally."

"As I said earlier, I'm Dave." He offered out his hand. "Come on, Sally. Let's go find your mom. Maybe she's here."

The girl was quiet, but she slowly and hesitantly took Dave's hand.

"There we go." Dave grinned. "Let's go walking." The two then walked along the beach, taking in the sights. "So...where do you remember last being?"

"I was in a park, with my Mommy. Then I ended up here."

"I was on a beach myself before I came to this one." Dave recalled. "I have to admit, it's mighty peaceful here..." He smiled at Sally. "I'm sure we'll find a way out of here." He reassured her.

"I hope so." The girl sniffled. "I want my mommy." She looked up at Dave. "My daddy said you hang out with those Unhumans."

"Inhumans." Dave corrected.

"...I like the one with the hair. Her hair is pretty." She pointed out.

"Medusa. Yeah, she's pretty cool." Dave nodded with a smile.

"My daddy says the Inhumans are scary." Sally said.

"Naw, they're pretty cool." Dave smiled. "Especially Lockjaw. You'd like him. He's a big friendly dog." He noticed a bulky woman walk towards them. She had brown spots over her body, and a large lower jaw and lips, with short blonde hair. She wore a burgundy dress, with a white apron-esque garment over it.

"Ah, there you are, little girl." The woman stated. The girl scooted closer to Dave, like she was frightened of her. Dave blinked at the woman for a moment, but then recognized her.

"Oh hey, Marilla."

"Hello, Dawson." She snorted at him. Sally whimpered in fright as she hid behind Dave. "I was helping keep an eye on the children here."

_That makes sense._ Dave thought. _Considering her job back on Attilan._ "It's alright, kiddo." Dave assured the frightened girl. "Marilla loves kids."

"Of course. I've been the nanny of the Inhuman Royal Family for over a century." She reminded Dave.

"She's from Atlan?" The girl blinked at Dave, not being able to properly pronounce Attilan.

"Yup. Born and raised." Dawson said. "It's alright. I know she's funny-looking, but she's not as mean as she looks."

"Humph!" Marilla snorted. "What are you teaching this child?" She looked at the girl. "You shouldn't judge people by their appearances, young one."

"Marilla here's got a point, kiddo." Dave smiled. The girl slowly walked towards the smiling Marilla.

"...do you know Medusa?" The girl asked. The Inhuman woman chuckled.

"I helped raise her." Marilla told the girl. She looked up at Black Bolt in the sky conversing with Doctor Strange. "I wish that boy wouldn't associate himself with such riff-raff up there."

Dave shrugged. "Eh, he's the king, he can hang out with whoever he wants." He then smirked. "Besides, you thought the same thing about me."

Marilla snorted. "I was worried about your designs on Crystalia." She hefted up the young girl and held her gently. She started to walk away. "She is a sweet girl, and she deserves to be with someone who cares about her."

"Aw, come on, Marilla!" Dave groaned as he followed her. "I don't think of Crystal that way!"

**Attilan**

Louise, Tana, and Gorgon raced into the Control Room. They found the rest of the Royals standing in front of the wall of screens. The screens showed the skyline of Honolulu...that had several Kree ships hovering above them. A window had opened up, revealing the face of Harold Hee, Honolulu's mayor.

"Queen Medusa, I'm sorry to be a bother, but we got spaceships hovering over the city!"

"I see them, Mayor Hee." Medusa nodded. "I suggest you evacuate the city."

"We're working on that, Medusa." Hee stated. "But we're having some issues with it, thanks to...well, you know. Can you spare some of your people to help us out?"

"Unfortunately, we cannot." Medusa told him. "The remainder of my people have all seemed to fall unconscious. We're not sure what's going on."

"Problems on top of problems..." Joey muttered.

"We have managed to speak to the occupants. They believe the cause of the dusting phenomenon is here in Hawaii. I do think it was Maximus that told them that."

Hee blinked. "...Didn't you exile him? You said you sent him to a planet with no intelligent life on it! So he couldn't use his powers to escape!"

"We _did._" Medusa nodded. "We believe that he managed to somehow obtain an ancient artifact known as the Power Prism."

"...The hell's a Power Prism?! That sounds like something out of a 1960s comic book!" Hee yelped.

"It's a small crystal." Crystal explained. "It's origins are unknown. Some believe it may come from another dimension. What is known is that when a being obtains the Prism, they can create powerful constructs made of light, fueled by the user's will and imagination."

Tana's mouth dropped a bit, and she remembered the Green Lantern ring in her clenched fist. Her eyes briefly darted to said fist.

_Wait..._the Hawaiian woman's mind started to race. _They said that the Power Prism allows the creation of constructs made of light by using willpower. That's kind of like how this ring works. And the strawberry blonde, what was her name, Jewel? She just said it's believed the Prism came from another universe...this ring comes from another universe...maybe the Green Lantern ring and Power Prism are related somehow? _

Gorgon noticed Tana's glancing at her fist. "Are you alright?" She looked up and nodded.

"I'm alright. I'm just..."

"You were thinking about that fancy ring of yours, huh?"

"...Yeah." She admitted. "I think it might be linked to that Prism thing. They both can make constructs of light, and they both come from another dimension. Not to mention that they both seemingly use willpower. You think they might be connected?"

"It's a possibility." Gorgon shrugged. "I'm no science expert. If we can get that damn Prism off of Maximus's hand, maybe Fisher an examine it and see if it's similar to that fancy ring."

"Maybe." Tana said. "...can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Have you ever felt like you ever in...over your head?"

"Over your head?" Gorgon blinked for a moment. "Ah, we don't normally hear that phrase here in Attilan. I understand it, though."

"Mm-hmm." Tana nodded, then glanced at her power ring-holding fist. "When this day started, I was just a regular talk show host. But now, I end up in a hyper-advanced city full of super-people, and then this ring falls out of the sky and says I'm part of something called the Green Lantern Corps..." She shook her head. "It's...a lot."

"Indeed." Gorgon nodded. "You seem to be handling it well, though."

"Well, either that or crack up." Tana said. "And I don't think cracking up will help."

Gorgon chuckled. "I agree. 'Cracking up' would not help right now."

"Yeah, it's just...this ring here wants me to play essentially 'space cop'. It wants me to fly around the stars and fight crime."

"And that's not something you enjoy the idea of."

"Yeah." Tana nodded. "I mean, I don't know about how these 'Green Lanterns' in the ring's home universe, but I can't just drop my life here on Earth to fly around in space."

"I see..." Gorgon smirked at the Hawaiian woman. "Look at it like this. That thing is from an alternate universe, right?"

"Yeah, what're you getting at?"

"I'm saying that you don't necessarily _have_ to do what that ring commands." Gorgon explained. "The ring is alone here. If you have no desire to patrol a large area of space, what can the ring do?"

Tana thought over Gorgon's statement. "I...suppose you have a point there."

"_You_ are in command of the ring, Moon. Not the other way around."

Tana smirked at the powerful Inhuman. "I see what you mean." She glanced at her fist. _You're in __**my**__ world now, buddy. Your "Oa" or "Green Lantern Corps" aren't here. You want me to be a Green Lantern? Well, we're doing this on __**my**__ terms. _

"Considering that Maximus is with them, it's pretty obvious that they don't, as it was said in an Earth movie, come in peace." Crystal growled. She noticed Louise and the others. "Hi, Louise."

"Dr. Fisher, have you found out the cause of..." Medusa started.

"No, but I do know that they've been put into some deep sleep." Louise said. "I've tried to wake them up, but..."

"It's strange, though. Why are _we_ still awake?" Gorgon asked.

"I'm guessing Maximus is behind this." Triton grunted. "Think about it. He's got the Power Prism. He can do damn near anything with it."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Joey snorted. "Psycho probably thinks he's having a laugh with this."

"Uhm..." Roberts raised his hand. "I'm feeling a little lost here. Can someone explain to me what the hell is with this Kree thing?"

"They're aliens, genius." Joey retorted.

"...like the ones in New York? The ones the Avengers fought?" Roberts blinked.

"No, those were different aliens. There are lots of aliens."

"Indeed." Crystal confirmed as she scratched Lockjaw's ears, making the big teleporting dog pant happily. "Kree, Skrulls, Rigellians, Centaurians, Arcturians, the Lem..." The blonde Inhuman royal smiled at the preacher. "There's a panoply of life out there."

"The Kree are the reason why we _exist_, Mr. Roberts." Triton told him.

"Yup." Crystal nodded. "The Kree kind of created us. We're descendants from early man that they experimented on."

"The Kree wanted to create some new weapons to fight another alien race called the Skrulls." Joey added. "So, they had the brilliant idea to kidnap some cavemen and do experiments on them."

"It was discovered that the human race had great genetic potential." Triton explained. "It's likely the reason why people like your superheroes like Captain America, the Hulk, and even Spider-Man exist."

Roberts scowled. "Are you saying _Captain America_, the legendary soldier, is one of you?" _God, I hope not. The man is a __**hero!**_

"Well, we don't know for sure." Crystal admitted. "We would have to test his DNA for the Inhuman genetic markers."

"We were told the Kree were attacking." Louise reminded.

"Considering what the Kree are like, we can safely assume that they're not here on a social call."

**The _KIINS Starvak_**

Att-Lah frowned as he sat back on his seat in his Ready Room. His hands were steepled in front of his face, and his face showed intense disbelief. "...you do not have a plan, do you?"

"I admit, I have been trying to think of something." Maximus shrugged. "I had _years_ to plot the overthrow of my family."

"...they claim the dusting phenomenon started in a place called 'Wakanda'." Att-Lah looked at Maximus. "You ever heard of that place?"

"Of course." Maximus nodded. "It's known to my people. It's a highly advanced nation in the continent the humans call Africa. It managed to escape the colonization and unrest of the rest of the continent thanks to its advanced scientific capabilities. They had kept themselves hidden for uncounted centuries until recently. Their king was about to share Wakanda's wonders with the world until...you know." He leisurely took a seat across from the captain and shrugged.

"You think these...Wakandans may have caused this...dusting?"

Maximus chuckled. "Not likely. The Wakandans are far more advanced than the rest of Earth, but they have nothing that could have caused this. They don't even have a space program."

"That would make sense." Att-Lah noted. "Bringing spacecraft into the sky would attract attention. And that seems like the last thing these 'Wakandans' would want to do." Att-Lah scratched his chin in thought. "So it's likely the Wakandans themselves did not cause this effect."

"Indeed." Maximus noted. "You said that you have given the humans two hours notice, right?"

"Yes." Att-Lah nodded.

"Good." Maximus smirked. "If you'll excuse me, I have some business of my own to take care of."

"Your family."

"Yes." Maximus smirked. "I put the remaining Attilanians to sleep with the Power Prism so they would have no help. And since they have been further weakened by the dusting effect..." His smirk grew. "Ill be able to have my own revenge." He left the room. "A shame that my dear brother Blackagar ended up among the dusted. Oh, a shame indeed..." Att-Lah watched the mad Inhuman leave.

The Kree captain frowned and steepled his fingers in thought. _He is mad. He is completely mad._ The blue-skinned man thought. _He clearly is more interested in revenge on his family. A man like him with the power of the Prism in his hands...he will have to be dealt with carefully. Power like that should not be allowed in the hands of the insane. Maybe it would be a good idea to get that Prism off his hands..._ His mind then thought about what Jett-Lar said. _Before we get down to business in Wakanda, I might as well eliminate the Inhumans, too..._

**Well, well, well! Things just seem to get worse for our favorite superpowered royal family! **

**Strange pays homage to the Monitor in the Arrowverse in a bit of his dialogue in this chapter. See if you can find it.**


End file.
